No recession, slowdown; US economy booming: USIBC

Amid talks of an impending US recession, US India Business Council (USIBC) President, Ambassador (ret.) Atul Keshap, on Thursday ruled out any recessionary or a slowdown trend in the US economy at the moment and expressed hope that a rate cut by Federal Reserve will sustain the growth for a while, especially stimulating the housing sector.

“I have lived through a few recessions. One gets to see the warning signs. I have not seen those warning signs in my personal field of the economy. Indeed, the economy is booming in many areas. So, I don’t see a recession and a slowdown at this juncture in time. And if the rate cut hits, the housing market will get stimulated which will probably sustain growth for a while to come,” Keshap told Fortune India on the sidelines of the USIBC India Ideas summit on Thursday.

Keshap said a 50 basis point cut in the lending rates, coupled with government spending push is expected to give a significant fillip to the US economy. “The $28 trillion US economy has gone through the pandemic very well just like India did. If you believe that there may be a 50 basis point rate cut that is going to really keep the economy steaming along. There have been some job layoffs and there have been some economic dislocation. But I think with the US government focusing on bringing our own investment capabilities and investment dollars back home, you will see a boom in American manufacturing,” Keshap said.  

On pressure points in the US economy, Keshap pointed to Putin’s “ill advised” war (against Ukraine) which has already led to energy shocks and food shocks and disrupted the entire world.

Talking about the India Ideas summit, Keshap said, “We just had a fabulous summit. We had half the US government flying in for the summit. We had a whole slew of Indian ministers. The key is that we are extremely ambitious about the US-India relationship and about the future of the relationship.”

“I did not hear any discouraging words. What I heard was unbridled ambition on the part of all of these folks for what they would like to see between now and 2047. When we discussed the challenges and pain points, it was in the context of addressing them and thereby increasing the economic connectedness between the US and India,” Keshap added.