US Business Newsletter

September 01 - September 30, 2022

Greetings from Consulate General of India,

New York!

Welcome to the September 2022 edition of our newsletter, bringing you important policy and high-impact news.

We hope you find it useful.

Factory Jobs Are Booming Like It’s the 1970s

Ever since American manufacturing entered a long stretch of automation and outsourcing in the late 1970s, every recession has led to the loss of factory jobs that never returned. But the recovery from the pandemic recession has been different: American manufacturers have now added enough jobs to regain all that they shed — and then some. American manufacturers cut roughly 1.36 million jobs from February to April of 2020, as Covid-19 shut down much of the economy. As of August this year, manufacturers had added back about 1.43 million jobs, a net gain of 67,000 workers above prepandemic levels.

The Senate voted 72-25 on Thursday, September 29, 2022 to pass a bill to keep the government funded until Dec. 16, putting Congress on a path to avert a shutdown. The stopgap bill gives negotiators time to hammer out a full-year funding agreement after the November midterm elections. “The last thing the American people need now is a pointless government shutdown,” Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, said in a speech on the Senate floor ahead of the vote. “I’m optimistic we’re on track to avoiding one well before the funding deadline.”

India’s Electric Vehicle Push Is Riding on Mopeds and Rickshaws

The country’s success with two- and three-wheeled vehicles that sell for as little as $1,000 could be a template for other developing countries. In India, an electric vehicle movement is taking place nonetheless, not on four wheels, but on two and three. Electric mopeds and three-wheeled rickshaw taxis that sell for as little as $1,000 are zipping along India’s congested urban thoroughfares, is cheered on by environmentalists and the government. India’s success with the low-cost vehicles is also providing a template for how developing countries could ditch combustion engines and combat climate change without pricey electric cars.

From the U.S. to China, Major Economies Are Stalling. But Not India

As global economic growth slows sharply, with many major economies gripped with worries of recession, there has been a conspicuous exception: India. The Indian government says the country’s economy remains on track to grow 7 percent or more this year, more than double the projections for global growth, which has been weighed down by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, rising energy prices and Covid-19 lockdowns in China. “India felt some global headwinds, but the process of recovery continued,” said Sunil Sinha, the principal economist at India Ratings and Research.

Tech Companies Slowly Shift Production Away From China

In the coming weeks, Apple and Google will unveil their latest generation of smartphones, jockeying to distinguish the new devices from previous models. But one of the most significant changes will go largely unnoticed by consumers: Some of these phones will not be made in China. A very small portion of Apple’s latest iPhones will be made in India, and part of Google’s newest Pixel phone production will be done in Vietnam, people familiar with their plans said. Worried about geopolitical tensions and stung by pandemic shutdowns, Google, Apple and others are moving some work to nearby countries.

New York expedites efforts to ban the sale of new gas cars by 2035

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced she is ordering state regulators to make changes necessary to require all new passenger cars, pickup trucks and SUVs sold in the state to be zero emissions by 2035. The move comes about a month after California voted to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles starting in 2035, setting a precedent for other blue states. It’s also a critical step for New York to take to meet its goal of reducing greenhouse gases 85% by 2050.

Cryptocurrency Is Coming to Your Credit Cards

Will you one day use crypto for everyday purchases? Visa, Mastercard and others are betting on it and taking steps to pave the way. Visa and Mastercard—the largest card networks in the U.S.—say they are working on ways to handle the mechanics of crypto payments themselves. These efforts, if they succeed, would mark a major turning point—the first time that the decades-old networks would enable settling payments in assets beyond what most consider mainstream currencies.