From H-1B, tariffs on India to foreign students - Trump's change of heart within the first year of his second term

US President Donald Trump, since returning to office after a landslide victory in the 2024 Presidential elections, has taken a pro-American stance in every area of his governance.

Starting from rounding up illegal immigrants to putting curbs on H-1B visas, Trump's focus has brought him admiration and criticism in almost equal measures from America's political corridors.

However, the US President now appears to have softened his stance, as he recently stated in an interview with Fox News that it is essential for the United States to attract talented individuals from foreign countries.

Trump on HIB

In the interview, when asked about whether restrictions on the H1B visa will be a priority for his government, the US President said that he needs skilled individuals from foreign countries since unemployed Americans cannot be given opportunities in complex roles in manufacturing and defence roles without sufficient training.

When asked if the US does not have the required talent, Trump said, “No, you don’t, no you don’t … you don’t have certain talents, and people have to learn. You can’t take people off an unemployment line and say, ‘I’m going to put you into a factory where we’re going to make missiles.’”

Trump on tariffs

Trump, after implementing 50% tariffs on India, which was among the highest in the world, has now backtracked from that position as well.

On Tuesday, Trump announced that the US would lower its high tariffs on India. He also claimed that India has reduced its purchase of Russian oil, which was the reason initially put forward by Washington for levying the high tariffs on India.

“Right now, the tariffs are very high on India because of the Russian oil, and they [India] have stopped doing the Russian oil… It’s being reduced very substantially. Yeah, we will bring the tariffs down at some point,” Trump said during a briefing at the White House.

India also said that talks are progressing well between the two sides on a new trade deal.

One official said, “Talks are progressing well between the two sides, and India and the US are negotiating a comprehensive, WTO-compliant trade agreement. India has kept in mind each sensitive sector in the talks. We don’t see the need for any more rounds of negotiations with the US and are now awaiting a response to India’s trade deal proposal.”

Trump on foreign students

In another major U-turn, Donald Trump now believes it is essential for foreign students to come to America.

In the Fox News interview, the US President stated that it was essential to attract foreign students to support the financial stability of higher education institutions in the US.

Trump said, “You don't want to cut half of the people, half of the students from all over the world that are coming into our country — destroy our entire university and college system — I don't want to do that.”

“I actually think it's good to have outside countries. Look, I want to be able to get along with the world,” he also said.

“We do have a lot of people coming in from China; we always have China and other countries. We also have a massive system of colleges and universities. And if we were to cut that in half, which perhaps makes some people happy, you would have half the colleges in the United States go out of business,” the US President also said.

“We take in trillions of dollars from students. You know, students from most foreign countries pay more than double when they come in. I want to see our school system thrive... It's not that I want them, but I view it as a business," he also said.