As Trump sticks to rhetoric, India needs to watch out

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 21

Donald J Trump stuck to his stripes and rhetoric in his inaugural address after taking oath as the 45th President of the United States. Those who had hoped that Trump the President would be more moderate as compared to Trump the presidential candidate, were in for a disappointment.

There was but one clear message coming out of his address. Trump intends to stick to the campaign promises, whether it is on immigration, fighting radical Islam or on getting American jobs back home.

For President Trump, globalisation hasn’t worked for America and he intends to turn the nation and its policies inward. Protectionism is likely to soon replace globalisation in the foreign policy jargon of the new US President.

“From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first,” he stated clearly. Trump’s ‘Buy American, hire American’ slogan is likely to translate into closing of the American borders and hearts to foreign trade and people.

He also made it clear that this new America has no desire to go about re-making the world in its vision. “We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone,” he said, “but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to follow,” he said. This would mark a dramatic shift in the American foreign policy since the days of Woodrow Wilson who then had advocated it as a part of American duty to promote democracy and its institutions around the world.

“We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs,” President Trump spelled out. For India, the significant part is regarding jobs. With Trump at the helm, the immigration policies are likely to see a change and that could impact thousands of Indian workers who go to the US on a H1B visa every year. On a broader spectrum, it could set in motion policies that would it more difficult for immigrants to get work permits and American citizenship, in the long run.

American doors have been partially closed by Trump who feels his first duty is to the Americans in Nevada and Iowa where factories have shut down and jobs gone abroad.

For India, the one sound byte that could have positive repercussions was Trump’s declaration of war on radical Islam. India that has been going hoarse, asking the world to deal with Pakistan that harbours terrorist organisations, could take heart at this statement. “We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones, and unite the civilised world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the earth,” he declared. Pakistan has cause for concern, though.