Will Bush Singh India's Tune?
Will Bush Singh India's Tune?
Date: Monday, July 18, 2005 6:30 PM
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
by Rob Sanchez
July 18, 2005 No. 1292
India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is visiting Washington DC today. This event is getting almost no airplay on U.S. news despite the fact that Singh is meeting with President Bush and many special interest organizations such as the India Caucus within our Congress.
Bush rolled out full pomp and pageantry for Singh's visit,
with a wigged fife and drum corps marching across the South
Lawn during the welcome ceremony. The two leaders walked
side-by-side and inspected a long line of troops in dress
uniform.
While here, Singh also had time to meet with a troupe of "non resident" Indians (NRIs). In case you are wondering, that's what the Indian press sometimes calls H-1Bs. Go to this page to see some of those pictures.
http://www.nriinternet.com/NRIandSonia/ManmohanSingh/Mammohan_Trip%20_Washington/071605TRIP_Washington.htm
Singh isn't coming here just for pomp and pageantry - he wants concessions from the United States. There are many things he is asking Congress and President Bush for, but of course this newsletter will concentrate on the ones that will have the most important effect on U.S. jobs. One thing for sure, if Bush Singhs a tune it won't be a song for American labor! India opposes covering all trade so fortunately this conflict may stall negotiations.
Issue #1: Indo-US Free Trade Agreement
Singh is going to put pressure on Bush to expedite the proposed Indo-US Free Trade Agreement. Singh wants the agreement to only cover trade in services because that will make it even easier for companies to outsource jobs to India. The U.S. wants the FTA to cover all trade so that our corporate farms can wipe out their small farmers like they did in Mexico when NAFTA was passed.
Issue #2: H-1B and Nonimmigrant visas
India wants to have unlimited nonimmigrant visas like H-1B and L-1 and they want it to be easier and cheaper to obtain them. They also want it to be easier and faster for Indians to become permanent residents by the use of Green Cards.
Issue #3: Totalization
India wants the U.S. government to pay India for all Social Security taxes that are collected by their citizens when they work in the United States. The U.S. would be required to send a check directly from our Social Security piggy bank to the Indian government.
Articles Used for this Newsletter
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1172935.cms
Will Bush Singh India's Tune?
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050718/w071866.html
With Singh at White House, Bush lauds U.S. relations with India
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jul152005/update145402005715.asp
PM leaves tomorrow for crucial US tour
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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1172935.cms
Will Bush Singh India's Tune?
SWAMINATHAN S ANKLESARIA AIYAR
[ SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2005 11:01:47 PM ]
When Indian Prime Ministers visit the US, they make big headlines in India, but very small ones (or none at all) in the US. That should put Manmohan Singh's visit in perspective. India today occupies only a tiny corner of the US radar screen. However, making even a blip is an achievement.
Ten years ago, India was not on the screen at all. It has now arrived, thanks partly to 9/11 but mainly to Indian success in computer software, BPO and R&D. These service industries suddenly make India look world-class, threatening millions of white-collar jobs in the US and Europe.
An economy that is feared is automatically respected. Once seen as a bottomless pit for foreign aid, India is now seen as a rising new economic power.
This is why US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declared during her recent visit that the US wanted to help India become a global power. That sounds great, but cynics argue that this is mere flattery to divert Indian attention from US sales of F-16 fighters to Pakistan.
The Prime Minister has said on the eve of his Washington trip that India is no more a supplicant, and seeks to be a partner of the US. It is true that India no longer begs on its knees for aid, as it did in the 1960s. Yet, on most issues, Dr Singh will be asking rather than giving.
For the US, good relations with India are useful but not essential. For India, good relations are crucial. India may like to pose as partner rather than supplicant, but it will be a very unequal partnership.
Dr Singh will ask a lot of the US, yet have little to give. India can present itself as a force for stability in an unstable region breeding Islamic militants. It can also be an Asian counterforce to China in limited ways. But it cannot offer the US military bases. At most it can offer its help in low-end security operations (like escorting ships through the Straits of Malacca). The list of what Dr Singh will be seeking from the US is much longer and runs like this...
l Membership of UN Security Council: India, along with Germany, Japan and Brazil, seeks a General Assembly vote to admit them. Bush will tell Dr Singh that the US favours India but not the others, and that Security Council expansion must be linked to comprehensive UN reforms.
l Membership of London Club of Nuclear Suppliers: India seeks formal acceptance as a responsible N-power that wants to prevent proliferation. The US won't agree. Formal membership would mean lifting curbs on nuclear supplies to India, and giving up the long-standing US demand that India sign the NPT.
l US equipment and know-how for India's N-power plants: Rice spoke of nuclear cooperation. However, the London Club makes supplies contingent on India placing all nuclear facilities, including defence-related ones, under international safeguards. India absolutely refuses. It proposes safeguards only on new facilities created with foreign assistance. The impasse will not easily be resolved. Even if Bush wants to lift curbs, US legislation will come in the way. Dr Singh could try lobbying the India Caucus to change the law, but the mood is unfavourable.
l Indian purchase of US weapons: Rice offered to sell India F-18 planes, which are much superior to F-16s being sold to Pakistan. Historically, the US has proved an unreliable supplier: US Congress can always pass legislation overriding a bilateral deal. But with the end of the Cold War, India is no longer in the Soviet camp, and 9/11 has brought the two countries together against terrorism. In this new atmosphere, defence deals look more promising. Defence minister Pranab Mukherjee has spoken of India maintaining, repairing and servicing US planes and ships, and this could be a new service industry.
l Pakistan and terrorism: US pressure has helped reduce Pakistani help to militants. But there are limits to this: Pervez Musharraf has internal compulsions that Washington understands and sympathises with. Dr Singh will seek and get renewed US assurances on this, but they will not amount to much.
l Indo-US FTA on services: India worries about possible US curbs on competitive Indian service exports. So, some (though by no means all) trade experts favour an Indo-US Free Trade Agreement on services. However, the US wants any FTA to cover all trade, not just trade in services: it has taken this position in signing FTAs with several countries already. A comprehensive FTA would expose Indian farmers to rivalry from subsidised American produce -- politically unthinkable in New Delhi.
l Liberal visas for Indian techies: Ideally, this should be accompanied by a pact giving the Indian government a share in unclaimed social security taxes paid by visiting Indians. Progress may be possible on these fronts. US unemployment is falling, the economy is doing well. These are favourable conditions for easier visas.
l Additional supplies of dual-use tech: Curbs on dual-use technology have been eased over the years, and the US will probably agree to further relaxation.
l Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline: The US has sanctions in place against Iran. However, in practice these have not prevented European countries, China and India from doing big commercial deals with Iran. So, Dr Singh could succeed in getting a no-objection assurance from the US.
The fact is, prime ministerial visits aim to improve the climate for decisions. They rarely yield agreements that have not already been negotiated. Dr Singh will be lucky to get many US commitments on the wish list he takes to Washington. But as Dubya himself would say, we might be misunderestimating our Man.
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http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050718/w071866.html
With Singh at White House, Bush lauds U.S. relations with India
08:39 PM EDT Jul 18
WILLIAM MANN
WASHINGTON (AP) - President George W. Bush said Monday that the United States and India have built their strongest relationship yet as he hosted an elaborate day of ceremony for the country's prime minister at the White House.
"India and the United States share a commitment to freedom and a belief that democracy provides the best path to a more hopeful future for all people," Bush said at a news conference with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "We also believe that the spread of liberty is the best alternative to hatred and violence."
But besides all the pomp, Bush wasn't willing to fulfil one of Singh's top wishes - support for a permanent seat on the Security Council of the United Nations. Singh said he still made his case to Bush during their Oval Office meeting.
"India has a compelling case for permanent membership on the Security Council," Singh said. "We are convinced that India can significantly contribute to UN decision-making and capabilities."
Considering a litany of alleged mismanagement, corruption and other failings at the world body, U.S. officials think an overhaul of UN operations must be underway before any reshaping or expansion of the council can be considered. The United States, Russia, China, Britain and France now hold the only five permanent spots.
Although U.S. officials said Singh was getting a firm "no" on his request, he looked for common ground. "In our talks, the president and I were of one mind that the contemporary reality must be fully reflected in the central organs and decision-making processes of the UN," he said.
Speaking later to reporters, Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said Bush told Singh that "the United States does understand and we embrace the fact that India is now a global power; that institutions like the United Nations need to modernize and need to change."
But he said Bush also "made it clear" the United States doesn't want a vote now on enlarging the Security Council "because we think that there have to be reforms made to strengthen the institution itself."
Pressure around the Bush-Singh meeting was eased somewhat Sunday when the foreign ministers of India, Brazil, Germany and Japan said they would not seek a change in the council's makeup until the end of July while they negotiate with the 53-member African Union.
Also at the news conference, Bush said he is encouraged by progress made by India and Pakistan toward resolving their dispute over Kashmir. Asked whether the U.S. government continues to believe that the Line of Control, separating Kashmir between India and Pakistan, should not be violated by anyone, Bush said "U.S. policy has not changed."
Singh also said that the two countries would later issue a statement addressing India's request that the U.S. ease restrictions on nuclear supplies to India. But he said "this issue has been addressed in a manner which gives me great satisfaction."
Singh's visit also included a welcome ceremony and a gala dinner. Bush also told Singh that he plans to visit India.
Bush rolled out full pomp and pageantry for Singh's visit, with a wigged fife and drum corps marching across the South Lawn during the welcome ceremony. The two leaders walked side-by-side and inspected a long line of troops in dress uniform.
Administration officials say the pomp was designed to emphasize the growing importance to the United States of India, a rising economic and military power whose newfound affinity for the United States is something Bush considers a major foreign policy success.
"Our nations believe in freedom, and our nations are confronting global terrorism," Bush said at the welcome ceremony. "As diplomatic partners, we're meeting this threat in our own nations and abroad. . . . The relationship between our two nations has never been stronger, and it will grow even closer in the days and years to come."
) The Canadian Press, 2005
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http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jul152005/update145402005715.asp
PM leaves tomorrow for crucial US tour
New Delhi, UNI :
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will leave here tomorrow on a three-day state visit to the United States for a landmark summit with President George W Bush that will have a crucial bearing on India's aspirations as an emerging world power and its anxieties, especially in the matters of energy security and acquisition of high technology.
The visit is taking place at a time when India, with a new confidence stemming from its growing economic and military strength, has stepped up its campaign for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council and is seeking US support for its candidature.
The country is also seeking a partnership with the US in a variety of areas and hoping for more investment in its infrastructure development programme.
At the same time, the Prime Minister himself has made it clear that he is not going to Washington with a wish-list or as a 'supplicant''.
The Prime Minister will be accompanied on the visit by a high-level delegation that includes Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
Others in the team include Mr Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Mr M K Narayanan, National Security Adviser, and Mr T K A Nair, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister.
External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh, who left for London and New York last night, will join the Prime Minister's delegation in Washington on July 17.
Dr Singh will reach Washington on Sunday evening after an overnight stay in Frankfurt. He will be staying at the Blair House, opposite the White House, where guests of the President are put up during official visits.
On July 18, Dr Singh will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at 0900 hours local time at the White House after which he and Mr Bush will hold talks. There will also be meetings between the two delegations. Later, Dr Singh and Mr Bush will jointly address the press. That evening, the Prime Minister will attend a banquet hosted by Mr Bush.
On July 19, Dr Singh will arrive at 9.30 am local time at Capitol Hill for his address to a joint session of the US Congress. He is likely to spend most of the day on the Hill, meeting with the India Caucus and other key figures. The Caucus and Indian Americans will host a luncheon for Dr Singh on that day.
In the afternoon of that day, he will meet senior US officials and others at Blair House.
The same evening, the Prime Minister will be the chief guest at a reception hosted by Indian Ambassador Ronen Sen where prominent Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and the official Indian delegation accompanying him will be present.
On July 20, Dr Singh will address an end-of-visit press conference at 1100 hours local time.
At 1 pm, he will address a luncheon meeting at the prestigious National Press Club in Washington. Meetings with think-tanks and editorial boards of major American newspapers as well as television interviews are being worked out.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to leave Washington late on July 20 and reach New Delhi on July 22 after spending the previous night in Geneva.
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