Going by the history of India-U.S. relations, Republican Presidents have succeeded in strengthening ties with India more than Democratic Presidents (“ >If Trump shifts Asia policy, China’s power will grow ”, Nov. 10). But under the Obama presidency, India-U.S. relations have been stable. Many are apprehensive that Donald Trump’s hawkish policy of ‘America first’ and his plans to renegotiate all foreign trade deals may hit India’s trade treaties with the U.S. Mr. Trump’s election promise of bringing back American jobs is also a matter of grave concern for India’s IT sector. Besides, his plan to reduce corporate tax rate from 35 to 15 per cent to lure multinationals may severely affect India.
But there are also some silver linings. Mr. Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire for stringent pecuniary and commercial action against China and Pakistan for using the U.S. for decades as a cash cow. If the U.S. imposes heavy tariffs on trade with China, this may open new avenues of trade and commerce between the U.S. and India. Mr. Trump seems against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, so this may be good for India too.
Buddhadev Nandi,
Bankura, West Bengal
Winston Churchill said something to the affect of democracy being the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time. This summarises the post-election commotion in the U.S. Voters must not reject the outcome just because it is contrary to what some of them wanted (“‘ >Not my President’: Protests erupt in the U.S .”, Nov. 11). People are taking to the streets even before Mr. Trump sets foot in the Oval Office. Though their concerns are justifiable, given Mr. Trump’s populist and surreal campaign, they should not assume that his presidency will be apocalyptic.
Dharmpreet Singh Khaira,
Patiala, Punjab
