Tariffs, visas… Where’s Trump going to hit India next?

An age of neo-nationalism has descended on the world and this is evident from the manner in which US President Donald Trump has been going about with his Make America Great Again (MAGA) agenda, placing US interests ahead of everything else. On Saturday, Trump who has been stunning the world every day since he took over about nine months ago, once again unleashed a bomb on aspiring professionals looking to study and work in the United States.

He has announced that employers would have to shell out $ 100,000 for every H1B visa, which sounds the death knell for those looking to study and work in that country. While the US has clarified that the hiked fee would not apply to existing visas and renewals, panic has set in considering the maverick ways of the US top gun, with Indians among others cancelling their tickets outwards and rushing to return to the US. For the Indian ruling establishment led by PM Modi and the nation on the whole, the visa shock is akin to heaping insult on injury.

The haunting memories of Indian immigrants being handcuffed and sent out of the country, are still fresh in our minds. And then came the big blow. A nation where there are thousands of exporters earning valuable foreign exchange from their exports to the US, is grappling with a huge crisis after Trump jacked up tariffs on Indian imports to a colossal 50 per cent. Exports oriented units are facing shutdowns with workers being sent off in view of the drop in foreign orders. The impact is just unfolding and one will have to wait for a couple of months to gauge the full fallout of the 50 per cent US tariffs.

And now, one will have to see how the visa fee surge will affect Indians. The US obviously will no longer be the favourite destination for those in sectors like engineering, medicine, research and healthcare. Most employers are likely to weigh their options carefully before deciding whether to pay 100,000 dollars to get an Indian professional on a H1B visa, or look within the domestic workforce for talent which would obviously come cheaper. That’s exactly what Trump and his advisors have in mind but questions are already being raised whether it will leave US business majors like Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft deprived of the brilliance the Indian IT force is known for. Look at it from an Indian point of view and we will have scout for markets other than the US for professional and business opportunities.

Educational and career avenues in countries like Canada, the UK, Australia and France besides European nations will have to be tapped so that the millions of highly qualified professionals emerging from Indian universities every year, will have alternatives to explore other than the US. The finance and commerce ministries will have to start working on a war footing to make sure our businessman, who were till now heavily reliant on the US market, are enlightened and ensured footholds in other markets. And we will also have to start generating adequate and high-earning employment opportunities for our youngsters, who spend several lakhs for their professional education and could be left in the lurch with the sudden US visa clampdown set to cut short their dreams.