By Kavita Iyer 
New Delhi, September 16: Howard Lutnick, the sharp-tongued U.S. Commerce Secretary, has managed to set off debates on two very different fronts in less than a day. One is inside America’s universities, where he floated a radical plan to grab half the revenue from taxpayer-funded research patents. The other is half a world away, in India’s farm markets, where he blasted New Delhi for shutting its doors to American corn.
Neither proposal is polite, and that seems to be the point.
Taking Aim At Universities
At Duke University, Lutnick dropped what many in higher education are already calling a political grenade. He said Washington should be entitled to 50 percent of the revenue that universities collect from patents linked to federally funded research. In other words, if a cancer drug or new tech platform emerges from government-backed labs, the public purse should get half the profit.
To be clear, that is not how things have worked for the past four decades. Since the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, universities have been free to take government-funded discoveries, patent them, and strike licensing deals with private industry. The model is credited with birthing the biotech boom and encouraging researchers to think commercially.
Lutnick is not convinced by the usual defense. He told students that taxpayers should see a return when billion-dollar products grow out of federal grants. It is an argument likely to appeal to voters who are weary of sky-high drug prices and corporate profits built on public science.
For universities and pharmaceutical firms, this feels like an existential threat. They worry such a grab would stifle innovation, make tech transfer unattractive, and discourage companies from betting on early-stage research. They also have the political firepower to make sure Lutnick’s plan does not move forward easily.
Still, he has cracked open a debate that many in Washington have quietly circled for years: who really benefits from the billions that taxpayers pour into American science?
The Corn Fight With India
If his patent idea rattled academics, his trade remarks were designed to sting. At another appearance, Lutnick turned his fire on India’s agricultural tariffs, zeroing in on corn.
“India brags that they have 1.4 billion people. Why don’t 1.4 billion people buy one bushel of U.S. corn?” he asked, in comments carried by Business Today.
The message was blunt: America buys a wide range of Indian goods, but India will not budge on imports of U.S. corn, especially genetically modified varieties. According to NDTV, Lutnick warned India would have a “tough time” in trade talks if it keeps those barriers up.
This is not just about corn. It is about leverage. The U.S. has long pressed India on dairy, poultry, soybeans, and other farm products, while India has bristled at American tariffs on steel and manufactured goods. Now, corn has become the latest flashpoint.
For India, the issue is politically toxic. Corn feeds not just people but livestock and poultry, and local farmers depend on it. Any sign of opening the gates to U.S. grain, especially GMO grain, sparks fears of corporate seed dominance and undercut prices for small farmers. The Modi government has repeatedly held the line, citing food security and farmer welfare.
For the U.S., it is also politics. American farm states carry outsized influence in national elections. Leaders in Washington cannot afford to look weak on market access for agriculture, especially in corn country.
A Pattern Emerges
When you place his two big interventions side by side, a pattern emerges. Lutnick is not shying away from confrontation. At home, he is telling universities they have had it too easy with public money. Abroad, he is telling India that if it wants American markets, it has to buy American grain.
It is a posture that fits with his reputation as a hard-edged dealmaker. But it also raises real risks. Push too hard on patents, and he could alienate some of the most powerful research institutions in the country. Push too hard on India, and he risks souring one of Washington’s most strategically important partnerships at a time when both nations are trying to counterbalance China.
For now, Lutnick seems comfortable walking that line. Universities are scrambling to respond, Indian officials are weighing their next move, and the Commerce Secretary has ensured that both sides know he will not be handling things with kid gloves.
The larger question is whether his tough talk is just posturing or the start of a real policy shift. Either way, he has forced uncomfortable conversations, and in politics, that can be just as disruptive as changing the rules.
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Former financial consultant turned journalist, reporting on markets, industry trends, and economic policy.
- Kavita Iyerhttps://hindustanherald.in/author/kavita/
- Kavita Iyerhttps://hindustanherald.in/author/kavita/
- Kavita Iyerhttps://hindustanherald.in/author/kavita/
- Kavita Iyerhttps://hindustanherald.in/author/kavita/
