US lawmakers warn Donald Trump’s tariffs, visa rules and diplomacy are straining India–US ties and pushing New Delhi closer to Russia. Photo: ANI.
The US-India relations have been on a sharp decline after Republican leader Donald Trump was elected as the President of the United States. From trade tariffs to visa regulations to claiming he brokered the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, Trump has made India angry in the last few months. However, it was the bonhomie between the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that shook the US lawmakers. The US Congress, of late, has given some attention to the issue of alienating India and pushing New Delhi towards Moscow.
Just this week, US lawmakers raised concerns about the new tariffs Trump announced new tariff on Indian rice and the radical changes made in the visa application process affecting thousands of Indians.
US Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, while speaking on the tariffs, said that the move has damaged the economies of both the US and India. Jayapal said the decision to slap heavy tariffs on India has hurt Indian exporters as well as American businesses and consumers.
Dhruv Jaishankar was positive about solving the trade and tariff dispute between the two countries. He also pointed towards the growing relationship between the US and Pakistan military, reiterating India’s position that there can be no third-party mediation between India and Pakistan.
During a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing on South and Central Asia, Rep. Ami Bera said that the India-US relationship is strong despite the recent decisions by the Trump administration, which have created friction.
Bera spoke about the Trump administration’s decision to impose a USD 100,000 fee on H1B visas, saying the move hurts the US companies and affects the business relations between the two countries.
Various experts appeared in the hearing titled “The U.S.–India Strategic Partnership: Securing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.” Those who attended included Jeff Smith of the Heritage Foundation, Dhruva Jaishankar of the
Observer Research Foundation America, and Sameer Lalwani of the German Marshall Fund.
Jayapal also spoke about Trump’s migration crackdown, saying that it threatens the longstanding people-to-people connections, which are the basis of any bilateral partnership.
Besides tariffs and the H-1B visa fee hike, US lawmakers spoke about the bonhomie of Putin and Modi. A day ago, one lawmaker raised a photo of a Putin-Modi selfie, saying that the US has pushed India towards Russia.
Bera on Wednesday also spoke about the meeting of Modi, Xi Jinping, and Putin, saying photos coming from the SCO summit “cause some heartburn for folks in Congress.”
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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