Donald Trump on his maiden visit to India signed 2 important Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), a Letter of Cooperation, and the much anticipated Defence Deal worth $3 billion. Both countries also committed to combating terrorism, narco-terrorism, human trafficking, and cybercrimes. There is also a proposal for a joint mission between NASA and ISRO to make a dual-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite. The deals have not come in isolation and history is embedded in each.
Crux of the Matter
MoU on Mental Health Compared to US, India does not have a developed environment to cater to mental and emotional issues. It is important that Indians start understanding mental issues as healthcare issues so that culture, like that of US, of research, training, and treating emotional issues is developed in India. Mental health issues in India have burgeoned from 3% in 1990 to 6% in 2013, as per the Lancet report. The report also stated that most cases in India are not reported as Indians do not prefer to seek treatment for emotional and mental disorders. From the Indo-US MoU pertaining to Mental Health, India will benefit from the American experience in the field of mental health, whereas US will be able to do a keen study on traditional Indian medicines and therapies and use it towards developing a better cure for mental issues.
MoU on Medical Products An MoU on ‘Safety of Medical Products‘ between India’s Centra Drugs Standard Control and US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) was signed during Trump’s visit. Indo-US trade of Medical appliances has a long history. In November 2019, at a time when New Delhi was holding talks with Washington for India’s reinstatement in the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, US had raised the issue of high tariffs on Medical instruments exported to India. Minister of Commerce and Industries Piyush Goyal, during his three-day visit to the US, had met AdvaMed (American Medical Device Trade Association) President Scott Walker. Reportedly, Walker had, time and again, lobbied with US to urge India to reduce high tariffs on crucial medical devices. In 2018, US Trade Representative (USTR) had asked India to liberalize its tariff policy on medical devices by threating to remove India from GSP. On Coronary Stents, India had allowed a trade margin policy. However, India looked forward to a mutually acceptable bilateral agreement that would solve issues for both nations – India then was working with the US to reduce high tariffs on Steel and Aluminium. Trump had then said that a deal on medical devices may soon come. MoU on Safety of Medical Products will not only directly benefit both the nations but also the patients who bear the high cost of it.
Renewed Energy Ties Letter of Cooperation among Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), Exxon Mobil, and Chart Industries Inc, US, for the supply of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) in India comes at a time when India’s oil import from US has increased to 2,50,000 barrels per day – 10 times of oil import from US in 2018. India started buying crude oil from US as it wanted to diversify its basket of oil imports that constituted majorly of OPEC nations.
Had a good meeting with United States Secretary of Energy, Mr. Dan Brouillette. Congratulated @SecBrouillette and wished him success in his new role. We jointly reviewed the ongoing Strategic Energy Partnership between our two countries and agreed to take it to the next level. — Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) February 24, 2020
In the last year (April – December 2019) itself, India has imported LNG worth $576.28 million from the US, which is India’s fifth-largest LNG supplier. The Letter of Cooperation aims at providing natural gas to untapped parts of India. Chart Industries has an array of experience in manufacturing LNG. ExxonMobil, on the other hand, has expertise in LNG operations – processing, storing, and transporting. IOCL’s nationwide presence would enable these American players to hop on to a deal that goes a long way and renews Indo-US energy ties.
Defence Deal Strengthening Indo-US military relations, India has decided to buy advanced military American helicopters, AH-64E Apache and MH-60 Seahawk/Romero Helicopters from the US in a $3 billion deal. This deal comes at a time when India is witnessing a strategic shift in its Defense policies after the creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and diversification of its Defence Arms vendors. India has well-established military ties with Russia. India’s 62% of arms purchase between the period 2013-2018 came from Russia, with major projects like BrahMos cruise missile program, Sukhoi Su-30MKI program, INS Vikramaditya, and the potential S-400 Triumf deal. Whereas with the US, India’s defence deals have lobbed up to $20 billion in just more than a decade. In 2017, India acquired the Missile Technology Control Regime Category 1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for its Navy from the US. With the signing of deals like Communications, Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) and Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), and beginning of joint exercises between the militaries, Indo-US military ties have received a new synergy. However, US had threatened India with sanctions while it was mulling over the S-400 Triumf missile deal with Russia. US also disliked India’s $3 billion Akula-1 nuclear-powered attack submarine deal with Russia. India now seems to have a say over its foreign policies. At a time when combating radical Islamic terrorism is the need of the hour and when neighbor China is building a strategic partnership with Pakistan through various deals like the Silk Route corridor, and Gwadar Port, India’s geopolitical and military prowess needs to be showcased through developing such strategic ties.
Curiopedia
The Defence industry of India is a strategically important sector in India. With a strength of over 1.44 million active personnel, it is the world’s 2nd largest military force after People’s Republic of China. India has the world’s largest volunteer military of over 5.1 million personnel. The total budget sanctioned for the Indian military for the financial year 2019 is $60.9 billion. Despite having a modest internal defence industry, India is the largest arms importer in the world, with most of its high-tech, high-value equipment such as aircraft, ships, submarines, missiles, etc. coming in from Russia. 12% of worldwide arms exports reach India. India domestically produces only 45% to 50% of defence products it uses, and the rest are imported. India’s track record as an arms exporter has been modest due to export restrictions on the manufacturing organisations like OFB. OFB exports Arms and Ammunition, Weapon Spares, Chemicals & Explosives, Parachutes, Leather and Clothing items to more than 30 countries worldwide e.g. Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Germany, Belgium, Turkey, Egypt, Oman, Israel, Kenya, Nigeria, Botswana, Chile, Suriname and USA. In March 2011 New Delhi agreed to sell its first indigenously designed and built multi-role offshore patrol vessel (OPV) named Barracuda, to Mauritius. More Info
Curated Coverage
Hindu Business Line – Trump in India: Two days, three MoUs, a defence deal and more
Business Standard – Goyal in US: Tariff on medical devices, agri imports dominate discussions
Economic Times – US may revoke special tariff if India continues pricing control on medical devices
Hindu Business Line – Will India-US MoU on healthcare make drugs more accessible?
Economic Times – After Trump’s India visit, Oil and gas imports from United States set to increase
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