The Hindu : International / India & World : `Kerry will continue good ties with India'

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Thursday, Jul 15, 2004

International

International - India & World

`Kerry will continue good ties with India'

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, JULY 14. If John Kerry becomes the U.S. President, the country's good relations with India, initiated by the former President, Bill Clinton, will continue, said the Permanent Chair of the Democratic National Convention, Governor Bill Richardson.

Mr. Richardson, a senior party leader who was at one time looked upon as a vice-presidential candidate, said that the soon to be Democratic nominee, Senator Kerry, was an internationalist. On outsourcing, Mr. Kerry had only stressed the need for having a policy of giving tax incentives to American companies for research and development.

"Senator Kerry voted for the free trade agreements, voted for free trade with China. He is an internationalist... What Senator Kerry is saying on outsourcing is that it's important that America has a policy where we give tax incentives for our companies that do research and development," Mr. Richardson, Governor of New Mexico, said.

"We recognise that outsource [outsourcing] is a reality but at the same time we want to keep our jobs and industries more at home here too," he said, making the point that India should welcome Mr. Kerry as America's president. "The Democratic Party has had a long tradition of ties with the sub-continent, with South Asia, especially India. And it was Clinton... that really opened up the American-Indian relationship. We'll continue that," Mr. Richardson said. The Permanent Chair of the National Convention was reminded that Mr. Kerry had called the chief executive officers of companies that outsourced as "Benedict Arnold CEOs," a reference to a "traitor" in some quarters during the revolutionary war. This had sparked widespread criticism in business quarters as this was seen as upping the ante for political reasons. Mr. Richardson said Mr. Kerry's reference was to the Enron CEO and others who misused stocks and other funds.

After the Wisconsin primary victory in February, Mr. Kerry had this to say on outsourcing: "We will repeal the tax loopholes and benefits that reward Benedict Arnold CEOs and companies for shipping American jobs overseas. Instead, we will provide new incentives for good companies that create and keep good jobs here in America."

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`Kerry will continue good ties with India'