Visa Revokes, Rising Costs, & Trump 2.0: Should Indian Students Still Choose the U.S. in 2025?
Is studying in the U.S. still a smart move for Indian students in 2025? We ask the big, bold questions—from the real ROI of a U.S. degree to the rise in student visa revocations, political uncertainty, and the pressure of tests like SAT, ACT, and IELTS. This candid conversation with Ms. Meaghan Blight, President, Wesleyan College, U.S., dives into safer cities, hidden scholarships, test-optional myths, and whether international students are judged beyond academics. A must-watch for every student and parent weighing the American dream this year.
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Time of India
20 minutes ago
- Time of India
Trade deal lacks fine print, raising doubts over US-China truce: Shaun Rein
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel "You can have companies, the big automakers like Ford and GM are rumoured to say, we need to relocate our manufacturing to China, so we can get access to rare earths despite the heavy tariffs that they would then incur by going into the United States. But here is the thing, China's media has been a lot more circumspect with the details of this so-called trade agreement," says Shaun Rein, China Market Research is a great and big question. Trump is saying the deal has been signed and he has been talking about that the Chinese are going to send rare earths and magnets in advance to whatever the United States needs because what you have seen in the last month is the lack of rare earths that were exported to the United States has really crippled the American economy You can have companies, the big automakers like Ford and GM are rumoured to say, we need to relocate our manufacturing to China, so we can get access to rare earths despite the heavy tariffs that they would then incur by going into the United States. But here is the thing, China's media has been a lot more circumspect with the details of this so-called trade has said the rumour is that they will give maybe export licenses to rare earths on a six-month trial basis to American companies. So, basically Trump is exaggerating the win in his mind and China is being a lot more honest probably saying well we do not have all the details ironed out, we want to come to an agreement but quite frankly China has the upper hand in the trade war with the United States right that the United States makes except for semiconductors, the Chinese can buy elsewhere. So, instead of buying American beef, they are buying Australian beef; instead of buying American oil, they are buying Canadian oil; instead of buying American soybeans, they are buying Brazilian soybeans. So, what you have seen is that there is a total shift in trade patterns and a total shift in power and China is at the top of the triangle, the top of the pyramid right now in terms of buying goods and trading goods from other countries. We are seeing a shift in world order right I mean that that is not true. I mean, Chinese equity markets are up 15-16% since the start of the year while the S&P 500 is only up about 2%. So, it is quite clear that the Chinese Hong Kong equity markets are outperforming the United States right the equity markets also do not necessarily reflect the economy. So, what you are seeing right now is Abigail Johnson, who is the head of Fidelity , the rumour is today that her private investment house is going to be selling 40 Chinese tech companies that they have long held because they are worried about the regulatory and I have been talking with a lot of mutual funds, I have been talking with a lot of LPs like pension funds and endowments and they are getting huge pressure from not just Trump , but previously under the Biden regime to derisk by not investing in Chinese equities, so that does not mean the economy is bad, that just means more oppression and bullying from the United States because they are trying to really contain China's economic might have happened eight years ago and that might have worked eight years ago. But the big problem is the United States has gone after Europe. The United States has gone after Canada. You even hear Howard Lutnick, the Secretary of Commerce , criticised India last week and said, why is India buying Russian weapons, they should be buying American the reality is the United States under Trump and Biden has been bullying people all around the world. And I think at some point the global south or I prefer to call it the global majority is saying you know what, let us not deal with all the drama, let us not deal with weaponization of the US dollar, weaponization of technology and let us move closer towards China where we have a lot more stable relations with Australia for instance, Australian dollar has strengthened in the last couple weeks because basically Australia is a proxy for China. Australia's economy does well when China's economy does well, whether it be buying iron ore, whether it be buying tourists going to Australia to buy products, so that is why the Aussie has strengthened and the US dollar is weakened. Now when it comes to liquidity and volume going back towards China, we are still at a very initial of the global funds only have about 25% of their holdings exposed to China. I recommend retail investors to have 15% to 20% because of the volatility and the regulatory we are seeing in my conversations with institutional investors like hedge funds that they want to come back into China, but they have not come back yet. Now, that gives a great opportunity for speculators and people who have a high-risk appetite to trade in front of the institutional personally, I am getting more exposure to Hong Kong equities the last six months because I am trying to front run what the hedge funds are doing because they still have not quite gotten into the markets yet and they will in the next three to six months because they have to make the business case, China is outperforming the S&P the United States needs a deal. Frankly, China controls about 30-35% of global manufacturing. So, America might have the money, they might have the capital, but they need to buy the products from China. At the end of the day, China makes not just rare earths, about 90% of refined rare earths, but they also make most of the ibuprofen, most of the of the antibiotics in the world comes from China. So, at the end of the day, that is real leverage. So, for instance in 2017, 18% of Chinese exports went to the US, that number is down to 14%. China on the other hand has shifted and exports to Asean, has gone up to 16%.So, basically, it is a game of chicken right now. China's economy is hurting, do not get me wrong. There are about 15 million people who are involved in the export sector. You have seen that the CPI index has dropped about 0.1%. So, we are dealing with the D-word, the economy in China is not booming, but China is not going to blink. They have the resolve to push hard back against Trump and Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick because at the end of the day, the Americans need to buy from China. They cannot buy antibiotics from any other country in the world except for a little bit from India.
Time of India
23 minutes ago
- Time of India
Piyush Goyal says addressing non-tariff barriers key to India-EU trade pact
Finding solutions to address non-tariff barriers would be important for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU) and both sides are actively working on resolving these issues, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. He said the two sides are "pretty" close to finalising the talks for the proposed free trade pact. "Significant progress has been made. More than half the chapters are ready. In terms of content, I would say we are almost 90 per cent ready for market access. The important issues to be addressed are non-tariff barriers and how we will make it smoother, easier, and better to do business between the EU and India," Goyal told reporters here. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Undo He added that both India and the EU are in active discussions to find solutions to make business smooth for companies of both sides. Also Read: US trade pact set for early finish: Piyush Goyal Live Events "Unless countries recognise that over regulation and barriers to trade will be met with reciprocal action, everybody suffers. We are committed to deregulation, to finding solutions to the high cost of regulation, the non-tariff barriers that these regulations cause and the impediments to free trade. I am quite hopeful that we will find very robust solutions to this problem," the minister said. He is here on an official visit to meet his Swedish counterpart and companies for promoting trade and investments between the two countries. Sweden is a member of the 27-nation EU bloc. Key Indian exports that routinely face high barriers in the EU include -- chillies, tea, Basmati rice, milk, poultry, bovine meat, fish, chemicals products. Most non-tariff measures (NTMs) are domestic rules created by countries with an aim to protect human, animal or plant health and environment. NTM may be technical measures such as regulations, standards, testing, certification, pre-shipment inspection or non-technical measures like quotas, import licensing, subsidies, government procurement restrictions. Also Read: Challenging times for global trade; India will certainly cross USD 825 bn exports this fiscal: Piyush Goyal When NTMs become arbitrary, beyond scientific justification, they create hurdles for trade and are called NTBs (non-tariff barriers). India's exports are far below potential as they face NTBs in regions, including the EU, the US, China, Japan, and Korea. According to think tank GTRI, the EU has set MRL (minimum residual limit) for tricyclazole, a fungicide in rice, to 0.01 mg per kg as against the ten times higher limit earlier. Similarly, the EU has set MRL for aflatoxins B1 level in chilies and other spices at 5 to 10 ppb (parts per billion). The minister said negotiations on services and rules or origin have started. To give an impetus to the ongoing talks for the FTA, EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic is expected to visit New Delhi on June 28-29. On the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), Goyal said this measure is "not good" as it is also a kind of a non-tariff barrier. This carbon tax, if imposed, will do injustice to Indian industry, he said, adding that if the EU will take any such step, India will have to respond to that. FTA talks are happening in a good environment and it will not be good to impose carbon tax on Indian goods, he added. "Our talks are going on the issue to find ways to deal with this," the minister said, adding that some good solutions will come out on this. On February 28, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to seal a much-awaited free trade deal by this year amid rising concerns over US President Donald Trump 's policy on tariffs. In June 2022, India and the 27-nation EU bloc resumed the negotiations after a gap of over eight years. It stalled in 2013 due to differences over the level of opening up of the markets. India's bilateral trade in goods with the EU was USD 136.4 billion in 2024-25 (exports USD 75.75 billion, imports USD 60.65 billion), making it the largest trading partner of India for goods. The EU market accounts for about 17 per cent of India's total exports, while the EU's exports to India make up 9 per cent of its total exports. EU's investments in India are valued at over USD 117 billion with around 6,000 European companies present in India. India's investments in the EU are valued at around USD 40 billion.
The Hindu
23 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Addressing non-tariff barriers key for India, EU trade pact, says Piyush Goyal
Finding solutions to address non-tariff barriers would be important for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU) and both sides are actively working on resolving these issues, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday (June 12, 2025). He said the two sides are "pretty" close to finalising the talks for the proposed free trade pact. "Significant progress has been made. More than half the chapters are ready. In terms of content, I would say we are almost 90 per cent ready for market access. The important issues to be addressed are non-tariff barriers and how we will make it smoother, easier, and better to do business between the EU and India," Mr. Goyal told reporters in Stockholm. He added that both India and the EU are in active discussions to find solutions to make business smooth for companies of both sides. "Unless countries recognise that over regulation and barriers to trade will be met with reciprocal action, everybody suffers. We are committed to deregulation, to finding solutions to the high cost of regulation, the non-tariff barriers that these regulations cause and the impediments to free trade. I am quite hopeful that we will find very robust solutions to this problem," the Minister said. He is here on an official visit to meet his Swedish counterpart and companies for promoting trade and investments between the two countries. Sweden is a member of the 27-nation EU bloc. Key Indian exports that routinely face high barriers in the EU include — chillies, tea, Basmati rice, milk, poultry, bovine meat, fish, chemicals products. Most non-tariff measures (NTMs) are domestic rules created by countries with an aim to protect human, animal or plant health and environment. NTM may be technical measures such as regulations, standards, testing, certification, pre-shipment inspection or non-technical measures like quotas, import licensing, subsidies, government procurement restrictions. When NTMs become arbitrary, beyond scientific justification, they create hurdles for trade and are called NTBs (non-tariff barriers). India's exports are far below potential as they face NTBs in regions, including the EU, the US, China, Japan, and Korea. According to think tank GTRI, the EU has set MRL (minimum residual limit) for tricyclazole, a fungicide in rice, to 0.01 mg per kg as against the ten times higher limit earlier. Similarly, the EU has set MRL for aflatoxins B1 level in chilies and other spices at 5 to 10 ppb (parts per billion). The minister said negotiations on services and rules or origin have started. To give an impetus to the ongoing talks for the FTA, EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic is expected to visit New Delhi on June 28-29. On the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), Goyal said this measure is "not good" as it is also a kind of a non-tariff barrier. This carbon tax, if imposed, will do injustice to Indian industry, he said, adding that if the EU will take any such step, India will have to respond to that. FTA talks are happening in a good environment and it will not be good to impose carbon tax on Indian goods, he added. "Our talks are going on the issue to find ways to deal with this," the minister said, adding that some good solutions will come out on this. On February 28, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to seal a much-awaited free trade deal by this year amid rising concerns over US President Donald Trump's policy on tariffs. In June 2022, India and the 27-nation EU bloc resumed the negotiations after a gap of over eight years. It stalled in 2013 due to differences over the level of opening up of the markets. India's bilateral trade in goods with the EU was $136.4 billion in 2024-25 (exports $75.75 billion, imports $60.65 billion), making it the largest trading partner of India for goods. The EU market accounts for about 17 per cent of India's total exports, while the EU's exports to India make up 9% of its total exports. EU's investments in India are valued at over $117 billion with around 6,000 European companies present in India. India's investments in the EU are valued at around $40 billion.
