US President Donald Trump has faced the scrutiny of friends and foes alike since he all but declared an economic war against India by threatening to impose 25 per cent punitive tariffs on India over its oil trade with Russia, on top of the 25 per cent tariffs that came into effect earlier this month. In Trump’s second term, India was expected to be America’s geopolitical counterweight to Chinese dominance in Asia.
But the 50 per cent import duty paints New Delhi as Washington’s economic enemy, putting it in the same category as India’s BRICS partner Brazil, whose leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has threatened the US with a similar punishing tariff rate. At the same time, Team Trump kept sparing China– the largest buyer of Russian oil– from similar punitive actions.
“India A Crucial Asset”
Geopolitical and economic experts believe that the onslaught against India could have a far-reaching and long-lasting impact on India-US ties. Trump’s Republican colleague, Nikki Haley, in an op-ed in Newsweek, argues that to achieve America’s foreign policy goals of outcompeting China, few objectives are more critical than getting relations between Washington and New Delhi back on track.
“India must be treated like the prized free and democratic partner that it is, not an adversary like China, which has thus far avoided sanctions for its Russian oil purchases, despite being one of Moscow’s largest customers…Scuttling 25 years of momentum with the only country that can serve as a counterweight to Chinese dominance in Asia would be a strategic disaster,” she said.
She acknowledged that India is essential in helping the United States move its critical supply chains away from China and is also a “crucial asset to the free world’s security.”
“While the Trump administration works to bring manufacturing back to our shores, India stands alone in its potential to manufacture at a China-like scale for products that can’t be quickly or efficiently produced here, like textiles, inexpensive phones, and solar panels,” she said.
Haley noted that, unlike Communist-controlled China, the rise of a democratic India does not threaten the free world, and therefore, Beijing’s ambitions will have to shrink as New Delhi’s power grows.
“Biggest Mistake”
Geopolitical expert Fareed Zakaria emerged as another critical voice against Trump’s India trade policies and slammed him for “undoing” decades of “painstaking efforts” by previous administrations to build strong ties with New Delhi.
During a recent interview with CNN, Zakaria noted that Trump’s punitive tariffs on India, while deepening its ties with Pakistan, were America’s “biggest foreign policy mistake.”
“Even if Trump reverses course, the damage is done. India believes America has shown its true colours. It’s unreliable, its willingness to be brutal to those whom it calls its friends. India will feel that it needs to hedge its bets. Stay close to Russia and make amends with China,” he said.
“Stupidest Tactical Move”
US economist Jeffrey Sachs also doubled down his criticism of Trump’s move to impose 50 per cent punitive tariffs on India, calling the American President the great unifier of the BRICS– a forum for cooperation among a group of leading emerging economies, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
In an interview on Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti’s Breaking Points show, the renowned US economist called Trump’s tariffs “the stupidest tactical move in US foreign policy”.
“Tariff Tantrum”
Senior US Congressman Gregory Meeks has also slammed Trump for his punitive tariffs against India and said “tariff tantrum” risks over two decades of careful work to build a strong partnership between Washington and New Delhi.
“We have deep strategic, economic, and people-to-people ties. Concerns should be addressed in a mutually respectful way consistent with our democratic values,” The Democrat leader said, according to the House committee responsible for foreign policy legislation.
