With growing distance between India and America relations, the Indian embassy in Washington D.C. has now onboard Mercury Public Affairs a ton consolidate its’ lobbying efforts for next 100 days. The arrangement has begun from mid August according to sources.
The new lobby firm has several Trump connections. Susie Wiles, the current Chief of Staff of President Donald Trump, was a co-chair at Mercury Public Affairs from 2022 until 7 November last year when she was appointed to be Trump;s Chief of Staff at the White House.
Former Republican senator David Vitter signed the contract on behalf of Mercury Public Affairs. The registration of the latest lobbying group comes after the Indian embassy snapped up SHW Partners LLC (SHW) in April, days after the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Trump has taken credit that he intervened and got the India-Pakistan conflict stalled, a claim that has gone down well the present BJP government in India.
“Consultant will provide strategic government relations and communications services (“Services”) to Client (Embassy of India) consistent with the terms and parameters of the Agreement as follows: Federal government relations, strategic media relations, a digital audit, digital strategy consulting and paid advertising,” Mercury Public Affairs’ registration statement as a foreign agent filed to the US Department of Justice said.
The contract was signed effective from 15 August and will continue till 14 November. The Indian embassy will be paying roughly $75,000 a month until November for its lobbying efforts. With the addition of Mercury, the Indian embassy is paying roughly $275,000 a month for its overall lobbying efforts.
After the Pahalgam attacks in Kashmir, India, the United States reportedly did not heed to Indian demands like India wanted. India was peeved that Pakistan and India were accorded same treatment when India had squarely blamed Pakistan for Pahalgam The India- America relations strained further over the bilateral trade deal
Trump in recent weeks has also criticised India’s continued purchase of Russian oil. The American President on 6 August announced the imposition of additional tariffs of 25 percent on India, which are set to kick in on 27 August.
The additional tariffs are above the baseline tariff of 25 percent, raising levies on Indian imports to 50 percent, one of the highest for any American trading partner. Indian posts, a government subsidiary has already announced that it will not longer be facilitating government postal services in the US citing financial reasons following the new tariffs. The postal services to America gets officially terminated from August 25. Fresh rounds to negotiate the tariff between India and America begin again in Washington from August 25, the same day. But the announcement has impacted trade and industry in India. Also, there is a perception that US Prez Donald Trump has been eyeing Indian origin people living in the US. Students and green card holders are being harassed and H1 B visa renewals are at Trump’s mercy, it is believed.
India has been shocked with Trump’s repeated claims of mediating an end to the 87-hour conflict with Pakistan earlier in May. It has maintained that the pause in the conflict was arrived at bilaterally between the two militaries and that the US had no role to play in it. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who never misses a chance to
Trump and his senior officials have recently ratcheted up the pressure on New Delhi due to its purchase of Russian oil. Last year, India purchased roughly $56 billion worth of crude from Russia, which accounted for almost 40 percent of its total oil imports.
Peter Navarro, the Counsellor to President Trump, has claimed that India has been profiteering from cheap Russian oil, exporting its derivatives at huge profits. India’s imports of Russian crude grew considerably since Moscow’s current phase of warfare with Ukraine began in 2022. The G7 imposed price cap ensuring that Russian crude would be sold at below $60 a barrel made it attractive for a number of countries, including China and India.
Trump Friday also announced Sergio Gor as the next ambassador to India subject to Senate confirmation. Gor, will also be the Special Envoy for South Asian and Central Asian affairs. The 38-year-old is considered to be extremely loyal to Trump and is currently the director of personnel at the White House.
The uptick in lobbying efforts come as New Delhi looks to safeguard its strategic ties with the US. While political ties are tense at the moment, defence cooperation continues apace between the two countries.
Also Read: The Reality And Vanity Of The US, India Tariff Tirade https://www.vibesofindia.com/the-reality-and-vanity-of-the-us-india-tariff-tirade/
Trump is aspiring for Peace Noble prize and that was the reason he wanted to have credit for the intervention between India PAK war. India has failed to show the spine while forgoing the interest as country. Tumip still has confidence and continued the efforts in this regard. All other steps are pressurising tactics with wrack leadership of the other countries.