As India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Washington, D.C., the Trump administration announced its plans for “reciprocal” tariffs on countries that tax U.S. goods. These tariffs, if implemented, could have a devastating effect on India’s economy, particularly on its export-oriented sectors. However, much of the anxiety evaporated as the two leaders pushed aside contentious issues and focused on convergences. By the time Modi left for New Delhi, both camps exuded an air of optimism.
President Donald Trump had once called India a “tariff king.” The average Indian import tariffs stand at 17 percent, far higher than China’s (6.5 percent) and Canada’s (1.8 percent). But that wasn’t the only sticking point. The issue of the H-1B visa, a program that allows skilled international workers to work in the U.S., has enraged the MAGA base due to a perceived increase in job competition, while Indians were incensed by the images of their brethren sent back to India in a U.S. military plane chained and handcuffed.
The U.S.-India relationship has come a long way. Today, India is the world’s third-largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity and fifth in terms of GDP. It is also the most populous country that has a thriving democracy and civilizational pluralistic society, a rarity in its neighborhood.
The U.S. and India have neither a formal alliance nor a comprehensive defense partnership. However, every U.S. president since Bill Clinton has solidified and improved their country’s relationship with India. Modi, serving his third consecutive five-year term, has worked tirelessly with three U.S. presidents—Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Trump—to build on the process started by his predecessor, Dr. Manmohan Singh.
As American policymakers emerge from Cold War-era thinking, they are increasingly realizing that America’s national strategic interests are tied to India’s. On June 21, 2023, the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal wrote: “As the new era of competition with China arrives, the U.S. needs more reliable friends. India is a crucial one.”
Given the delicate task of balancing Trump’s campaign promises on tariffs and immigration and courting India to counter China, both leaders delivered a positive message at a White House news conference on Thursday. “Trump’s meeting with Modi was a delicate dance,” said Subhash Kak, regents professor of Computer Science at Oklahoma State University-Stillwater. “Trump made specific assertions about what he wants, but he gave Mr Modi enough room so that the process can be incremental as it has been in the past.”
Trump uncharacteristically praised Modi, saying the prime minister was the “better” and even “tougher” negotiator. There were several instances where President Trump expressed admiration for Modi. The two leaders have great chemistry, going back to Trump’s first term. They hosted a campaign-style rally in Houston with over 50,000 attendees in 2019, and another one in India with over 100,000 filling a cricket stadium to welcome Trump in 2020.
Both Trump and Modi are strong populist nationalist leaders and have been targets of similar left-wing attacks from media, academia, and bureaucracy. “Indians will be thrilled with the outcome” of the Trump-Modi meeting, said Ramesh Rao, a professor in the Department of Communication at Columbus State University. “Both wish to make their countries strong and prosperous, and both have major concerns about the destructive agendas of the ‘woke’ left European governments.”
The two leaders issued a joint statement last week discussing the shared values of “freedom, the rule of law, human rights, and pluralism” that form the basis of a strong relationship between their nations. The statement was quite a contrast to the constant lecturing and virtue signaling of the Biden-Harris administration. Even Trump acknowledged during Thursday’s press conference that “a lot of things happened that weren’t very appropriate” between India and the Biden administration.
The statement also highlighted several areas of convergence—defense, trade and investment, energy security, technology and innovation, and people-to-people and multilateral cooperation. Trump hopes to build a closer and more open relationship with India to counter China, which India is happy to do while maintaining strategic independence. And at the same time, according to Kak, “The purchase of advanced military hardware from the U.S. will make India less reliant on Russia.”
Trump also talked about cooperation in confronting “the threat of radical Islamic terrorism.” Both the U.S. and India have been victims of such terrorism. Indians often compare 9/11 and 11/26 (written 26/11 according to Indian dating format). On November 26, 2008, 10 Pakistani gunmen belonging to the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out a coordinated attack in Mumbai, India, that killed at least 174 and injured more than 300. Trump announced the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, a member of Lashkar-e-Taiba and alleged mastermind of the Mumbai attacks. This extradition has been one of the long-pending demands of the Indian government.
The U.S. can offer India much, and India will gladly reciprocate. According to Rao, the next few years can “augur a golden period in Indo-U.S. relations.”
India may have to buy more energy (oil and gas) and weapons (F-35 planes) from the U.S. If these purchases include cooperation in space, nuclear technology, and other areas without much additional expense, the expenditures shouldn’t be a cause for concern for India. Geopolitical pragmatism calls for it.
President Trump’s statement also clearly shows that India made some progress on the issue of U.S.-based Khalistanis who aim to break up the Indian state by violence. These groups have publicly called for the killings of Indian politicians, diplomats, and ordinary citizens. They have a strong U.S. base and often hide behind the First Amendment protection.
Trump mentioned India made “quite a few requests.” Whether these were for extradition of violent extremists or something else, we don’t know.
If people in India were hoping Trump would accept that somehow the U.S. government was involved in “regime change” operations against Modi, they were being naive. However, Trump did admit that President Biden’s prior administration had not been good for India and Modi.
Trump was a good host to Modi. But his America First policy restricts him from giving India any special privileges that may infuriate his MAGA base. This is understandable, but still leaves plenty of room for cooperation.
Avatans Kumar is a recipient of San Francisco Press Club’s journalism awards. Follow him on X @avatans.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
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