US Will Be More Concerned About Soybeans And Agri-exports To China Than India’s Farm Laws

Malcolm Marshall is a name that evokes both respect and fear among the Indian diaspora. Respected for his exploits and feared for how well he delivered those exploits — fierce, swift, and too fast to respond to at times!

His Barbadian compatriot, Rihanna did the same. Well, not quite with blaring vocals this time, but through a tweet that was as loud as her acoustics, and one that much like a Marshall bouncer, left India ruffled and for some a bit bruised.

The response in India was eclectic and cantankerous at the same time with both sides of the aisle alleging that the other had concocted their own version of propaganda.

A Joe Biden administration with Tony Blinken at the foreign-policy steering wheel has signs of the United States returning to a concerted effort of more global engagement, particularly with oomph and a focus on multilateral discourse. Perhaps in this spirit, diplomacy was emphasised in the message from Washington DC, through a statement released by the US Embassy in New Delhi stating, “Washington has also welcomed steps that would enhance the efficiency of India’s markets”.

There is a slight conundrum here.

For too long, Washington’s bugbear with India has been a market that has too much regulation, government intervention and tight-controls that eschew the US’ free-market enterprise system, and counters a Reaganism outlook which states that…