India, US will soon reach mutually beneficial agreement: New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy

Bengaluru: Phil Murphy, Governor of the State of New Jersey, United States of America on Monday expressed confidence that India and the United States will soon arrive at a mutually beneficial agreement on the tariffs imposed by the US on Indian goods, including a penalty linked to India's purchase of Russian crude oil.

In an exclusive interview to DH after signing a sister state agreement with Karnataka government, he said the relationship between the US and India is significant and stated that there will be a common agreement very soon on the steep tariffs imposed on India.

"Those are not the steps I would have taken. I completely understand that Russia needs to be isolated. I personally would not have imposed so much tariff on allies (like India). I am confident there will be a resolution very soon because there is too much at stake," Murphy said.

With effect from August 27, the President Donald Trump administration has levied a 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods entering the US. Both the countries are currently in dialogue to reach a trade deal.

Commenting on the massive hike in fee for H-1B visa by the Trump administration, the New Jersey governor said he believes in creating as many opportunities as possible to American citizens but it also requires external talent. "If the increase in H-1B visa fee to $100,000 stays for long, it will certainly lessen the talent going to America," he said.

Stating that he can't control the visa process as it is a Federal issue, he said the earlier system was working very well and there was no need to tamper it by increasing H-1B visa fee. "We should secure our borders and keep bad people out of America, but we also need talent and students to come to America for studying," Murphy said.

Governor Murphy is leading a delegation of industry leaders and state representatives to India and held discussions with several technology, life sciences, and pharma companies in Bengaluru.

The aim of his mission is to strengthen New Jersey’s economic, academic, and cultural ties with India while cultivating partnerships and international investment opportunities in sectors such as manufacturing, food & beverage, technology, financial services, life sciences, AI, and film and television. As part of this mission, New Jersey signed a sister state agreement with the Karnataka government for partnership across key sectors such as investment and jobs, higher education, government to government relations, and cultural/religious relations.

He said New Jersey cares deeply about India and that is why it has opened two trade promotion offices in the country which are in New Delhi and Bengaluru.

Murphy said many universities from New Jersey are waiting to collaborate with Indian universities.

During his tenure as Governor of New Jersey, he said many Indian companies including Sonata, Biocon, Infosys, HCL, and TCS among others have created around 3,000 jobs in New Jersey. In total, about 200 Indian companies have invested in New Jersey and created nearly 30,000 jobs, he said.