India Doing The Unfinished Business With US

WITH MERELY A MONTH LEFT IN DONALD TRUMP'S TENURE TO END AS PRESIDENT, INDIA HAS ALREADY STARTED TO CHANGE ITS STANCE IN ITS US POLICY, BY ACCEPTING JOE BIDEN AS THE NEW PRESIDENT AND MAKING STATEMENTS IN HIS INTEREST.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar recently made a statement condemning that India-US could not agree upon a Free-Trade Agreement
• It blamed Donald Trump administration for rejecting India's proposals without specifying any valid reasons
• It showed faith in the President-elect Joe Biden's administration for making developments in this aspect, thus, dumping the Donald Trump administrations
• It is notable that India was one of the first few countries to accept Joe Biden as the new President and to congratulate him.

HOPING FOR REMOVAL OF SANCTIONS OVER S-400 DEAL

• Under the Biden administration, India is hoping to bypass American sanctions over its S-400 defense missile purchase deal with Russia
• India had entered into a purchase deal with Russia, rejecting the American version of the defense missile
• US has already put sanctions on several countries, including its NATO ally Turkey, under its stringent Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) for making purchase from Russia.

HOPING FOR RESTORATION OF STATUS IN GSP

• Under the Biden administration, India is hoping to restore its status of developing country under the GSP
• GSP i.e. Generalized System of Preferences is a system which the US has adopted to support developing and underdeveloped countries in growing, by providing significant exemptions in excise duties
• The Trump administration had arbitrarily changed India's status from ‘developing' to ‘developed' country, and thus deprived it of the exemptions under the system
• Being a developing country, India hopes to restore the previous status.

WHAT INDIA HOPES FOR BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO KEEP STATUS QUO

• There are several aspects where India benefitted under the Trump administration and wishes that it remains status unchanged under Joe Biden
• Trump's main focus as an adversary was on China, which benefitted India in numerous ways such as in form of support from US military, support on international platforms or heavy blows to Chinese economy
• Trump's considerably lesser hostility towards Russia was also an important factor in India's ability to maintain harmonious relations with the two otherwise rival Nations
• However, Biden administration is expected to change US's stance and focus again on Russia while giving reprieve to China.

WHICH US PRESIDENT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER FOR INDIA'S INTERESTS? SHARE YOUR VIEWS IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW!