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As trade talks with US drag, Republican leader defends India: ‘They bring investments’
Republican leader Rich McCormick said that numerous economic reasons justify that PM Modi "is going to do what he is going to do".
Amid prolonged talks to finalise an India-US trade deal, US Republican leader and Congressman Rich McCormick on Thursday defended New Delhi, saying that it does not just take investments from Washington, but also brings them.
McCormick also reasoned India's purchase of Russian oil, saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does so in the "best interest of his country".
The remarks came against the backdrop of a recent conversation between India's external affairs minister, S Jaishankar, and his US counterpart, Marco Rubio. The two discussed cooperation in trade, defence and security.
At an event at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), McCormick spoke about the India-US bipartisan relationship and said PM Modi understands how important "we are because we are like-minded".
He said that PM Modi is an "extremely nationalistic in a good way", adding that the leader is merely looking out for his country.
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McCormick stated why he understands the Prime Minister's actions. "If you understand some of the things that frustrate us when they buy cheap Russian oil, it basically funds a war in Ukraine. We hate that. But, he's (PM Modi) doing it for the best interest of his country, so he can expand his economy with cheap energy," he said.
The Republican leader said that numerous economic reasons justify that PM Modi "is going to do what he is going to do".
He asserted that US President Donald Trump has to use Washington's leverage as the country is India's "biggest consumer". "We are the world's biggest consumer. We have a $30 trillion economy. India has not even passed Germany yet. They are about fourth, I think they just passed Japan. But, they are coming up on Germany, and they are going to blow by Germany, and then they're going to advance on China," McCormick said.
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However, he took note of how China has been at the top since 2015, saying that Beijing has been "cheating their way to the top through the World Trade Organisation, which we have in good faith, and they have abused".
The Congressman said that the US wants to ensure that India "stays in line with good economics, good faith and good relationship that it doesn't become an abusive relationship on either side".
Meanwhile, Democratic Representative Ami Bera clarified that the US is "not creating" a strategic partnership with Pakistan. "You don't see American companies making multi-billion dollar investments in Pakistan. That's all happening in India."
McCormick added to this matter and said that Pakistan has almost 300 million people in its country too, "but they don't bring investment here (the US) and vice versa too".
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However, he said, "India is not only taking investment, but they are also giving investment, and to watch them kind of grow as a nation and actually spread their wings and start to establish themselves as a dominant country in a lot of regions."
McCormick also lauded the talent that comes out of India. "Talent matters and India is supplying a tremendous amount of talent to the entire world. Not just in exporting talented people, but also in what they are filling in," he said.
The Congressman, who belongs to the same political affiliation as President Trump, noted how India placed a spaceship on the dark side of the moon for under $80 million. "Not billion, million dollars. We can't even build a building to talk about putting a spaceship on the dark side of the moon for that much," McCormick stated.
The recent trade discussion Jaishankar held with Rubio was described as a "good conversation" by the EAM. Without giving particular details, he said the two sides agreed to “remain in touch on these and other issues”.
US state department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said Rubio and Jaishankar discussed “ongoing bilateral trade agreement negotiations and their shared interest in strengthening economic cooperation”.
