"This is a regressive step in my view": Former Indian diplomat Anil Trigunayat on Trump's H-1B visa fee plan

New Delhi [India], September 20 (ANI): Former Indian diplomat Anil Trigunayat criticised U.S. President Donald Trump's proclamation imposing a USD 100,000 annual fee on H-1B visas, warning it would directly impact India and describing it as a backward move for global talent supply.
"This is a regressive step in my view. And because India is the only country today which will provide talent to the face, so be it. Well, I think that this is an ongoing thing," Trigunayat said.
He added that Trump's decision was consistent with his political messaging, "I think it is in keeping with his various statements that he has been making ever since, especially to please his MAGA constituency. He has also been, you know, creating more difficulties with regard to his prescriptions on the H-1B visa, not from now, but for quite some time now. Even ordinary visas also have become not that easy."
The former Diplomat argued that the move was aimed at raising revenue at the expense of U.S. competitiveness.
"So what he's trying to do, basically, is trying to extract as much money as he can from the industry, even if it is at the expense of the United States, eventually, and also to make it difficult by giving them gold card at $2 million to a corporate and then asking them to pay $100,000 for each H-1B visa that they want. And as you know, India is the largest user of that visa, so it will directly impact on us. It might even enable various companies to eventually, instead of getting people to the United States, work online, which has also been going on significantly," Trigunyat said.
On trade ties, Trigunayat said Trump understood the need for talks despite imposing tariffs even as India remained open to dialogue and valued its partnership with Washington
"Trump has realised that the trade deal must go on. He tried to use it as a leverage by imposing the highest tariffs and sanctions on India, 25 plus 25, for a very illegitimate reason, actually. You can't justify what he did that. But at the same time, India has always been open to it, considers the India-US relationship as a very important global comprehensive strategic partnership. And the trade in goods is only one component of that. So it is good that the negotiations have happened," he said.
Highlighting India's diplomatic strategy, he added, "India has followed a consistent policy of multi-alignment with the strategic autonomy. And in all its major relationships, it has developed those kinds of constituencies in different countries, different geographies, different alliance groups, which are like BRICS, SQUAD, or across various free trade agreements. And also India is in a very good position as far as plus our exposure to the world has been limited to some extent."
India, he said, did not accept unilateral sanctions. "And we do not admit or accept the unilateral sanctions by countries until unless they are authorised by the United Nations. So we'll have to find ways how we continue to deal with them going forward. Geopolitically, of course, there's a turn taking place." (ANI)