US tariffs on goods from India “killed“ the idea of strengthening defense cooperation within the framework of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) (India, Australia, the United States and Japan), writes Politico.
In recent decades, the United States has sought rapprochement with India, trying to distance it from Russia, a traditional long-standing partner of this South Asian country, the publication writes. Back in January, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said that Delhi would like to strengthen the defense component within this format. “This initiative is likely dead as long as the administration of US President Donald Trump continues to punish India with tariffs“, the newspaper wrote.
Former Indian Ambassador to the UN Syed Akbaruddin told the newspaper that the current crisis in relations between the two countries is not limited to differences on trade issues. “The imposition of tariffs is seen as a blow to faith in the sustainability of the India-US partnership. If left to their own devices, they could wipe out the progress of two decades of strategic rapprochement between India and the US“, the former diplomat said.
A White House source told the newspaper that the Trump administration does not believe “this is the end of the partnership between the two countries“. Supporters of the development of Indo-US relations remain hopeful for their recovery. In particular, they hope that Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September.
“Despite the negative statements coming from India about bilateral relations, I believe that the Indian government would like to try to bridge the gap and I think the Trump administration would like the same. Although the current tariffs may remain in place for a few weeks, I hope that the two leaders will meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September and get the relationship back on the right track“, former US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster told the publication.
On Wednesday, the US imposed a 25% tariff on Indian goods, imposed due to India's purchase of Russian oil. Previously, the Washington administration imposed a 25% tariff on the republic as part of the country's new trade policy. This makes India among the US's trading partners with the highest tariffs, with the country's tariff rate at 50%.