November 7, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was quoted in an article by Sathish Raman of Oneindia on how U.S.-India relations will strengthen despite trade challenges during a second Trump administration:
During his campaign, Trump advocated for higher tariffs on foreign goods, particularly from China, and promised to deport all undocumented immigrants. This stance might necessitate challenging negotiations with India on trade and immigration matters. Dhruva Jaishankar of the Observer Research Foundation highlighted that New Delhi may face tough discussions with the Trump administration on these fronts.
November 7, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was quoted in an article by N Madhavan of mint on how Trump’s reelection will affect policies like trade and immigration with countries such as India and China:
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, expects a more assertive White House. “Trump 2.0 will be more professional and disciplined, but also more assertive in advancing certain key policies, particularly given the large electoral mandate," he says.
November 6, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was quoted in an article by Firstpost on what a Trump presidency could mean for U.S.-India ties:
“For Trump, I think there will be some difficult negotiations over trade and immigration, although, on many other issues, he has spoken about a very positive relationship with India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” said Dhruva Jaishankar, the executive director of the America chapter of the Observer Research Foundation.
November 6, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, spoke to deKoder on Trump’s victory of the U.S. presidential election and how his win will impact U.S. foreign policy and its relationship with India.
November 5, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, spoke to ANI on the multiple factors that will affect the outcome of the U.S. presidential election that include a surge in early voting and mail-in voting, young men leaning more Republican, and minority groups.
“Indian Americans tend to be reliably democratic. About two-thirds tend to vote Democrat in a given presidential election. There's some sense in some recent polling to suggest that some of them are now increasingly looking at the Republican Party and former President Trump, as an appealing candidate. And one can speculate on the reasons for that. Some of it has to do with economic issues or immigration issues as well. Some of it has to do, maybe Trump has spoken a lot about his relationship with India and they find that very appealing.”
November 5, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, spoke to CNN-News18 on the what impacts of voters and the swing states will have on the U.S. presidential election.
November 5, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was quoted in an article by The Hindu on how the incoming U.S. administration will hold a positive relationship with India regardless of the political party in office:
Dhruva Jaishankar, the executive director of the America chapter of the Observer Research Foundation, said the direction of the relationship is expected to be different in areas of trade, energy and immigration.
"For Trump, I think there will be some difficult negotiations over trade and immigration, although on many other issues, he has spoken about a very positive relationship with India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said.
"On the other hand, with Harris, there will be some continuity as what we have seen under the Biden administration in the past four years. But I think there will be more of a progressive agenda and foreign policy, and that may have some implications for the relationship with India," he said.
Mr. Jaishankar said India-U.S. cooperation in the energy sector would be "big" going forward but explained how there could be a difference in approach by a Harris administration or a Trump dispensation.
"The nature of that would be different under a Republican or a Democratic administration. A Democratic administration would focus more on climate change, renewable energy and clean and green energy," he said.
"Republicans would focus more on fossil fuel, oil and gas. Either way, I foresee a much closer energy relationship because India and the U.S. are the two largest consumers," the strategic affairs expert elaborated.
November 5, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was quoted in an article by Coastal Digest on the tight race between U.S. presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump:
"The elections are very close. They (the outcome) may change on the basis of a few thousands votes here or there. I think the big issue will be voter turnout tomorrow. That will determine the outcome in certain swing states," said Executive Director of the US chapter of Observer Research Foundation Dhruva Jaishankar.
November 5, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, spoke to NDTV as part of a panel on the future of the U.S.-India relationship under a new Democratic or Republican administration.
November 4, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, spoke to Press Trust of India on the impact of 2024 elections on India-US relations.
September 26, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, spoke to NDTV on India’s role in the upcoming U.S. election and the presidential candidates’ campaigns.
September 23, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was quoted in an article by Biman Mukherji, Amy Sood, and Maria Siow of South China Morning Post on the connection between Harris’ South Asian background and her U.S.-India policy:
Echoes of Obama
Experts say Harris’ Indian roots are likely to spark emotional connections in parts of India, much like Barack Obama’s Kenyan ties did in Africa.
Obama also spent part of his childhood living in Indonesia and received warm receptions whenever he visited the Southeast Asian nation, with domestic news offering live coverage of him visiting his childhood home in Jakarta in 2017.
A Harris victory might evoke similar sentiments in India. Residents of Thulasendrapuram celebrated her winning the vice-presidency four years ago, and the community now displays banners in support of her presidential bid.
Harris “likes to highlight her Indian origins and especially her family and upbringing, but as with Obama and Kenya, that is unlikely to have a meaningful effect on policy outcomes,” said Dhruva Jaishankar, a foreign-policy specialist and executive director of the Observer Research Foundation America.
September 21, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was quoted in an article by Biman Mukherji, Maria Siow, Kimberly Lim and Amy Sood of South China Morning Post on Harris’ caution towards her Asia policy:
Asian investments
During her visits to the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam while vice-president, Harris articulated her intent to counter China’s increasing assertiveness in the region. Her diplomatic approach has been cautious, however – leaving her future policy direction somewhat ambiguous.
“She has played it safe and been positive, but has not made a major imprint,” said foreign policy expert Dhruva Jaishankar, executive director of Observer Research Foundation America think tank.
August 25, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, spoke to the The Print on the state of bilateral ties and what the presidency of Donald Trump or Kamala Harris would mean for India.
August 14, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was quoted in an article by So Geok Lan of ThinkChina on Harris’ Asia policy:
Asian and immigrant background may provide different perspective
Harris was born to an immigrant family in Oakland, California. Her mother is Indian and her father was born in Jamaica. After her parents divorced when she was seven, her mother raised her and her younger sister alone. Harris has often said that her mother is a strong influence in her life.
The first foreign trip Harris took as vice-president was to Southeast Asia. Over the past three years, she has been to Asia four times, visiting Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, as well as US allies Japan and South Korea.
But analysts have deemed her visits unmemorable. In an interview with Nikkei Asia, Dhruva Jaishankar, executive director of ORF America, said, “She’s not articulated very strong views on [Asia]. The foreign policy issue that she has been most engaged on as vice president has been border security and migration from Latin America.”
August 7, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was quoted in an article by Ken Moriyasu of Nikkei Asia on the difference between Harris’ and Trump’s Asia policy:
Still, Harris has not visited India as vice president, said Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director of the think tank ORF America. "But there is a high degree of satisfaction about the Biden administration's management of the India relationship," Jaishankar said. "As of now, there are no signs of a change in policy."
August 6, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was quoted in an article by N Madhavan of mint on how Donald Trump’s tariff plans could affect Indian businesses:
“It is not clear if the 10% tariff on imports will be selective or across the board. India may see tariffs on steel and aluminium going up," says Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, a think tank.
July 23, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was quoted in an article by Pak Yiu of Nikkei Asia on Harris’ Indian roots:
"Her lack of foreign policy experience would be something Asian leaders might notice," said Dhruva Jaishankar, executive director of think tank ORF America. "She's not articulated very strong views on (Asia). The foreign policy issue that she has been most engaged on as vice president has been border security and migration from Latin America."
July 21, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, also discussed Kamala Harris in an interview with NDTV. You can find his interview here.