US - Insights - March 2024

India-US Relations

Incredible momentum in India-US defence relations: Pentagon official

There is a paradigm change and incredible momentum in the US-India defence relationship which is now defined more by the overall trajectory rather than by differences on key issues, a senior Pentagon official has said. Click here to read… [2]

US needs highly qualified professionals from India, says Congressman

The United States needs highly qualified professionals from India, an influential American lawmaker has said, advocating that the US Congress remove the seven per cent country quota for issuing of Green Cards that has resulted in decades of long wait for professionals from India who have moved to this country. Click here to read… [3]

US soil being used for terrorist activities against India: Community leaders tell Department of Justice and FBI

A group of eminent Indian Americans in Silicon Valley has held a special meeting with senior officials of the Department of Justice, FBI and police and told that the US soil is being used for terrorist activities against India.During the meeting, Indian Americans expressed their displeasure and dissatisfaction that the law enforcement agencies in the US have not been able to take any action against those who are espousing terrorism activities in India, according to multiple persons present in the meeting. Click here to read… [4]

Geopolitics & Foreign Policy

Politics Can’t Stop at the Water’s Edge

As in any democracy, politics is a natural part of how the U.S. government makes foreign policy choices.
Most of this politicking happens at the elite level, and it includes what Americans might consider unseemly behavior when applied to national security—bargaining, horse-trading, and careerism. Click here to read… [5]

U.S. Sending $300 Million in Ammunition, Weapons to Ukraine

The Biden administration said it was sending $300 million more in ammunition and other weapons to Kyiv in a stopgap move to boost Ukraine’s forces while Congress debates a new aid package. The Pentagon plans to transfer artillery rounds, rockets for Ukraine’s Himars launchers, anti aircraft missile and anti tank weapons, using funds in the Army budget left over from weapons contracts for replacing arms sent to Kyiv, officials said. Click here to read… [6]

Israel Is a Strategic Liability for the United States

U.S. President Joe Biden recently proclaimed that “there’s no going back to the [Middle East] status quo as it stood on Oct. 6.” But the truth is that Biden refuses to abandon the status quo, particularly regarding Washington’s so-called special relationship with Israel. Click here to read… [7]

Egypt Is What Happens When the U.S. Gives Up on Democratization

U.S. President Joe Biden talked about democracy vs. autocracy a lot in his early days in office. This was an attempt to reinvigorate democracy as a source of American soft power. Allowing the Israel-Hamas conflict to drag on will keep discrediting the United States, elevate the standing of China and Russia, and undermine the prospects of democracy globally. And current events in Egypt, a historic strategic partner to the United States, showcase the consequences of this inertia. Click here to read… [8]

U.S. Republicans push anti-China bill, but passage unlikely in election year

U.S. Republican lawmakers have introduced a comprehensive anti-China bill that would reshape the two countries' economic relationship, but the proposed law faces long odds in a presidential election year where Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee. Click here to read… [9]

China challenges U.S. electric vehicle subsidies at WTO

China has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization against U.S. electric vehicle subsidies, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said on March 26, claiming that the requirements are "discriminatory" and "seriously distort" fair competition. The ministry issued a statement alleging the subsidies offered under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act violate WTO rules and saying China is "firmly opposed." Click here to read… [10]

Led by Nvidia, U.S. dominates in generative AI tech

U.S. tech companies have come to dominate multiple facets of the burgeoning market for generative artificial intelligence, with market shares of 70% to more than 90% depending on the field. Click here to read… [11]

US Elections & Internal Dynamics

2024 Presidential, Senate and House Election Forecasts

Control of the House, the Senate and the presidency are all up for grabs in the 2024 elections, a rare instance of Republicans and Democrats battling for all three levers of elected power in Washington. Click here to read… [12]

Donald Trump wasn’t MAGA’s only winner on Super Tuesday

President Biden has come to recognize that the surge of undocumented immigration during his presidency is a threat to his re-election. He knows that most voters are unhappy about the increase. So are mayors and governors who have been left to deal with an expensive and often chaotic situation. Click here to read… [13]

State of the Union highlights and key moments from Biden's 2024 address

President Biden delivered his third State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, issuing a full-throated defense of his record in one of his most energetic and assertive speeches of his presidency. Without naming him, Mr. Biden criticized Trump for the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, his economic record and his opposition to a bipartisan border security bill that stalled in Congress earlier this year. The defiant speech came at a crucial time, when many voters are expressing doubts about Mr. Biden's age and his ability to do the job. Click here to read… [14]

How Immigration Became a Top Political Issue Far From the Border

The issue’s rise to prominence in New York City and its suburbs reflects a larger trend. A Wall Street Journal poll released in March found 20% of voters now rank immigration as their top issue, up from 13% in December and above any other topic, including the economy. Click here to read… [15]

10 Senate Races to Watch in 2024

The fight for Senate control is playing out almost entirely in Democratically held seats this year as President Biden’s party defends a slim 51-49 seat majority. For Democrats to hold the Senate, the party would most likely need all their incumbents to win; for their candidates to prevail in open seats in Arizona, Michigan and Maryland; and for Mr. Biden to be re-elected so Vice President Kamala Harris would play the tiebreaker in an evenly split chamber. The party is targeting two Republican-held seats, but those are considered more difficult terrain. Click here to read… [16]

How TikTok Was Blindsided by U.S. Bill That Could Ban It

Behind the scenes in Washington, a bipartisan group of lawmakers and Biden administration officials had been quietly planning new legislation to ban TikTok or force its sale to a non-Chinese owner. The legislation was a culmination of a more than yearlong effort to curb TikTok by a coalition of China hawks in Washington and Silicon Valley, and it had gained new momentum in part because of anger over TikTok videos about the Israel-Hamas conflict. Click here to read… [17]

U.S. Senate passes spending bill, averts imminent shutdown

The U.S. Senate narrowly averted a partial government shutdown on 08 March, as the chamber approved spending legislation for several government agencies just hours before current funding was due to expire. Click here to read… [18]

Nikki Haley exit marks GOP shift to 'America First,' analysts say

Even as she announced her exit from the U.S. presidential race, Republican candidate Nikki Haley spoke of the need to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression. On Super Tuesday, she lost 14 of the 15 contested state primaries to former President Donald Trump, who gained more than 70% of the vote in nine of the states. Haley's exit is a sign that Trump's path has won the debate for now. Click here to read… [19]