‘Afraid of our talent,’ says Piyush Goyal after US H-1B visa fee hike, urges Indians to return, innovate in India
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Afraid of our talent,’ says Piyush Goyal after US H-1B visa fee hike, urges Indians to return, innovate in India")
India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal Photograph: (Screengrab from video on X)
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that different countries across the world also want to do free trade agreements with India. They want to increase trade with India. They want to improve relations, Goyal added.
India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal reacted to the H-1B visa fee being hiked to $100,000 by US President Donald Trump, saying that the world is “a little afraid of Indian talent” and exhorted Indians working abroad to “come to India, innovate here, design here”. Goyal, who will be leading the Indian delegation in the US for the next round of talks for a trade deal amid tensions over tariffs, made remarks apparently reacting to the $100,000 fee on H-1B visas used mostly by high-skilled Indian workers in the US.
The minister also said that “different countries across the world also want to do Free Trade Agreements with India”.
“They want to increase trade with India. They want to improve relations,” he said, in a video clip from a speech that he shared on his X handle.
After a pause and smile, Goyal added, “They are also a little afraid of our talent. We have no objection to that either.”
‘So we are winners, come what may’
The commerce minister then urged the Indian talent to “come to India, innovate here, design here”. He said that will make the economy grow even more rapidly and added, “So we are winners, come what may.”
He also spoke about being “on a mission mode” to make it easier for businesses in India, promoting manufacturing, and supporting international trade.
“The growth achieved was 7.8% in the first quarter. It beat all economists’ expectations, and we will continue to beat them right up to 2047,” he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set 2047 as the target year for India to become ‘Viksit Bharat’ (developed nation).
Though PM Modi did not speak about the H-1B visa issue directly, he stressed that India must become more self-reliant.
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President Donald Trump’s administration hiked the H1B visa fee after imposing high trade tariffs that hurt India’s prospects.
WATCH: BREAKING: PM Modi's Appeal To Citizens, Say With Pride, I Use Swadeshi
A US delegation led by Brendan Lynch, Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, met Indian officials headed by chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal in New Delhi on September 16 for trade talks after Trump struck a more conciliatory tone and shared some mutual praise with PM Modi.
Piyush Goyal will lead negotiations in Washington on September 22 to accelerate the process to seal the trade deal.
India’s exports to the US fell to $6.86 billion in August from $8.01 billion in July, ministry data showed. Exporters have warned the full impact of higher tariffs, at 50% now, would be felt from September, as the duties came into force at the end of August.
Trump’s presidential proclamation for overhaul of the H-1B visa programme raised questions about whether it would also cripple America’s tech talent.
