WASHINGTON, D.C. (NEXSTAR) — During his trip to India, President Donald Trump said the U.S. will negotiate a major trade deal with that country.
That has some in the tech sector watching closely.
“We will be making very, very major, among the biggest ever made, trade deal,” Trump said.
And that potential trade deal could have a major impact on the U.S. economy, in particular the tech sector, and the communities it supports.
“We think there’s a huge opportunity for us to increase the number of goods and services that are exported from the U.S. to India,” said Jason Oxman, president and CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council, a trade group representing many major U.S. tech companies.
He believes a trade deal with India would make it easier for the American tech industry to increase its footprint in a country of more than a billion people.
“I think the opportunity for technology companies is to export more to India, both products and services,” Oxman said.
In terms of tech, some experts say the real winners or losers could be some of the U.S.’s major tech hubs—places like San Francisco, Austin, or Seattle.”
“We think a trade deal between the U.S. and India is very important, but there are certainly some things we need to address,” Oxman said.
One of those concerns — tariffs on imported goods and their impact on U.S. companies and communities.
“We look at the number of jobs that are directly created in the U.S. by India trade today, it’s about 200,000 jobs,” Oxman said. “We think there’s a lot of room to grow with more jobs, with more trade.”
But Trump has also said reaching any deal will take months– possibly not until after November’s election.
