India Consul General boosts collaboration with Huntsville companies

While India and the United States share similar histories, both are former members of the British empire, they also share similar political systems as the two largest democracies in the world.

The two nations also share economic interests that extend to Huntsville by linking local companies with India’s growing economy.

“Of five or six of our major interests, four are in Huntsville – aerospace, defense, life sciences (pharmaceuticals, biotechnology), and advanced manufacturing,” said Shri Ramesh Babu Lakshmanan, Consul General of India in Atlanta.

Lakshmanan’s comments came Thursday at the “Conversation with the Consul” roundtable hosted by the North Alabama International Trade Association and the University of Alabama in Huntsville I2C.

“This event is timely and necessary,” said UAH President Dr. Charles Karr. “All of those things are at the core of what goes on in this community.”

The program identified concrete opportunities for collaboration between Huntsville-based organizations and India’s rapidly expanding tech and industrial sectors. It focused on Huntsville’s core sectors – including aerospace, defense, healthcare/life sciences, and advanced manufacturing – and how regional companies can engage with India’s fast-growing innovation and industrial ecosystem. 

“What Huntsville offers for India and what India offers for Huntsville,” Lakshmanan said. “Leaders should have great relationships … just pick up the phone.

“Every objective in this partnership is important … for the global good.”

Lakshmanan said there are incentives for companies to locate in India, including a large, skilled workforce and government-provided job training programs.

“The India job ecosystem is government training employees for your company,” he said. “Incentives are based on the industry. Getting a good partner makes life better.”

India and the U.S. hit a pothole on their partnership road last year when President Trump imposed tariffs as high as 50% against India.

Last April, he imposed a 26% additional tariff on Indian goods, combining a 10% baseline duty with a 16% reciprocal levy.

Exports to its biggest market suddenly became less competitive for India, and industries such as textiles, engineering goods, and chemicals had to quickly prepare for the hit.

Then, in August, tariffs on Indian goods reached as high as 50% – which included a 25% penalty linked to its “continued purchase of Russian oil.”

While India briefly found itself among the most heavily taxed exporters to the U.S., Lakshmanan said, “We have products that are not affected by the tariffs.”

Negotiations eventually reduced U.S. tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 25% and scrapped the 25% penalty linked to India’s purchases of Russian oil.

But, there was salvation from, of all places, the U.S. Supreme Court, which struck down several tariffs.

“We have agreed to the 18% tariff but the Supreme Court lowered it to 10%,” Lakshmanan said.

In the negotiations, India committed to lowering tariffs on a wide range of US goods, and to significantly increase purchases of American energy, technology and other commodities, potentially exceeding $500 billion.

“The India-U.S. relationship is ever-growing, Lakshmanan said. “The timing is perfect for the U.S. and India to collaborate.”

Overall, the roundtable helped participants to better understand potential collaboration opportunities between Huntsville companies and India’s tech sectors, to establish initial contacts with representatives from the Indian Consulate and regional trade organizations, and to identify next steps for ongoing dialogue – such as future industry exchanges, trade briefings, or follow-up discussions through NAITA and I2C.

“Hearing about all the opportunities for collaboration is very enlightening,” said NAITA Executive Director Anne Burkett.