Free Trade

India, like the rest of Asia, knows that Democrats are more protectionist than Republicans, who are free traders by ideological conviction. Throughout his presidential campaign, Obama, in his effort to woo the Democratic Party’s working class base, made frequent noises against America’s free trade agreements.

Some of his aides, however, suggested with a wink and a nod that what the candidate says before the elections need not necessarily become policy when he assumes office. Obama’s Democratic predecessor in the White House, Bill Clinton, successfully pushed the North American Free Trade Agreement through the US Congress with the support of Republicans and a small section of Democrats in 1994.

America’s economic situation is of course a lot grimmer now than in the mid 1990s and Dr Singh would want to get a sense of Obama’s instincts on trade, outsourcing and immigration that concern many Indians. In seeking Obama’s support on free trade, Dr Singh may have to signal India’s willingness to bring the Doha round of trade negotiations to a successful conclusion in the not-too-distant future.

Nuclear Proliferation

Many leading Democratic Congressmen, especially Obama’s Vice-Presidential pick, Senator Joseph Biden, strongly supported the historic civilian nuclear deal with India, despite the fact that it was initiated by an unpopular President Bush. But it is no secret that many leading lights of the Democratic foreign policy establishment, especially the powerful non-proliferation lobby, were deeply offended by the framework of the nuclear deal. They have not reconciled to Bush’s decision to acknowledge the reality and the legitimacy of India’s nuclear weapons. While they cannot undo the nuclear deal with India, the non-proliferation hawks would certainly want New Delhi to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and agree to an immediate moratorium on the production of fissile material, which India has resisted until now.

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