From defense to innovation and climate initiatives, the India-US bilateral relationship has become a defining partnership of the 21st century. Now, the White House is strewing around phrases like India being the US’s key strategic ally.
It further cements India’s position in the Indo-Pacific, a region dogged by changing power equations and, of course, China’s influence.
The affirmation comes at a pivotal moment, as Washington signals that a long-awaited trade pact with New Delhi is now “very close” to being unveiled.
“The President said last week (that the US and India are very close to a trade deal), and it remains true. I just spoke to our Secretary of Commerce about it. He was in the Oval Office with the President. They are finalising these agreements, and you will hear from the President and his trade team very soon when it comes to India,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, responding to a question on China’s growing footprint in the region.
She spoke of the US’s strong commitment to India as a pillar in the Indo-Pacific strategy. “India remains a very strategic ally in the Asia Pacific and the President has a very good relationship with Prime Minister Modi, and he will continue to have that,” she said.
The timing of the remarks is significant. It came at a time when India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar toured the US for the QUAD Foreign Ministers’ meeting, involving the US, India, Japan, and Australia.
He also opened an exhibition at the UN, The Human Cost of Terrorism, which points to the ghastly effects of state-sponsored terrorism around the world. The topic remains strongly relevant to India’s foreign policy discussions.
A potential India-US trade agreement nears finalisation. Yet voices from across the political spectrum in Washington have concerns. Weighing in on the state of Indo-US trade relations, US President Donald Trump spoke of the existing trade barriers. “India, I think we are going to reach a deal where we have the right to go and do trade. Right now, it’s restricted. You can’t walk in there, you can’t even think about it. We are looking to get a full trade barrier dropping, which is unthinkable and I am not sure that that is going to happen. But as of this moment, we agree that going to India and trade,” Trump was quoted as saying.
Words that strip diplomacy to its bones, laying bare the urgency of recalibrating the India-US trade relationship in a shifting global order.
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