Promising a very “different global landscape in a short time”, India’s External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, said trade would continue to find a way even as the world is engaged in trade wars.
Speaking at an Observer Research Foundation (ORF) panel on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly session in the US on Saturday, the minister underscored the immediate requirement of a global workforce and new trade arrangements, saying India was expanding its export basket as it engaged in talks with Latin America and the Caribbean to diversify economic ties.
As the global dynamics shift, Jaishankar said trade would “continue to find a way”.
“The world will require a global workforce, and trade will continue to find a way despite uncertainties. We will see new trade arrangements, technology, connectivity, and workplace models, making the global landscape very different in a short time,” he said.
Also Read: BRICS must defend multilateral trading system: Jaishankar
The minister stressed that in “this turbulent atmosphere”, particularly for large countries, it is important to build capacities for greater self-reliance.
“That is very much the focus in India today. Technology, self-reliance, multipolarity, and South-South cooperation are all part of one basket,” he added.
Jaishankar's remarks come amid heightened tariffs on Indian goods by the US administration, recent hike in US H-1B visa fees to USD 100,000, and continued threats by US President Donald Trump against India’s purchases of Russian crude oil which led to “punitive” secondary sanctions being slapped on Indian imports to the US.
Currently, the US has imposed one of the highest tariffs on India of 50 per cent, Brazil being the only other country to be slapped with such high tariffs.
Indians account for nearly 71 per cent (over 2.8 lakh) of all H-1B visas, followed by Chinese professionals with around 11.7 per cent or over 46,600.
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