Episode 17: India-USA ties under Trump vs Biden

In Episode 17 of the Transforming India podcast, co-hosts Arvind Panagariya and Pravin Krishna are joined by Dr. Tanvi Madan, a Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy and Director of the India Project at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. They discuss how a Biden presidency will be different for India than a second Trump administration. Madan begins with a crisp overview of where the current relationship stands in areas of defense, foreign policy and economy. The conversation then moves to a discussion of India-USA-China trilateral relationship. It considers questions such as whether Biden will be softer on China and whether he would take a more conciliatory approach towards the latter in the area of trade? Madan also offers insights into whether a Biden presidency might take a more conciliatory view on H1-B visas and ease up on Iran sanctions in ways that might be beneficial to India. She concludes by arguing that with some foundational agreements between India and the USA already in place, the relationship is poised to deepen further as these agreements are implemented over the next four years regardless of who occupies the White House during those years.