Trump’s post on Truth Social saying, “Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China” may hint that he is on the verge of giving up on ties with New Delhi. Or it could just be more of Trumpian posturing. But there’s no denying that Trump’s tariff-targeting of India has taken the world by surprise. And many experts and commentators argue that the damage Trump has wrought on India-US ties not only defies logic but also takes a sledgehammer to decades of painstaking relationship-building. This in turn undermines American strategic interests. Here’s a selection of global opinions on what could possibly be Trump 2.0’s worst strategic call.
The Economist: In its Aug 27 leader “Humiliation, vindication – and a giant test for India” the magazine highlighted the fact that Trump had undone 25 years of diplomacy by embracing Pakistan after its conflict with India in May, and singling out India for even higher tariffs than China. It also described this American alienation of India as a grave mistake. It pointed out that Trump has actually vindicated India’s long-held position of avoiding locking itself into specific alliances.
Fareed Zakaria, The Washington Post: In his Aug 15 opinion piece, Zakaria underscores Trump’s biggest foreign policy mistake by highlighting the fact that five US administrations since the end of the Cold War had followed policies that sought to build strategic ties with India. This was, in large part, driven by a desire to strategically balance a rising China and prevent Beijing’s domination of Asia. But Trump’s approach reverses all this. And this American self-goal can be catastrophic for US's other Asian interests.
Washington Post Editorial: Separately, a Washington Post editorial on Sep 1 (“Trump’s white-knuckling with India could backfire”) the paper spotlights Trump’s transactional approach to trade talks with India, and describes New Delhi’s and Washington’s current posturing as political theatre. However, it hints at the fact that Trump might be overplaying his hand. It also questions Trump’s approach to allies: Are they true friends or partners of convenience? And for US it was better to have allies than not when facing a threat like China.
John Mearsheimer, Daniel Davis Deep Dive podcast: The American international relations expert described Trump’s India policy as a “colossal blunder”. He also accused Trump of poisoning a terrific relationship with India. Reiterating the US strategic need to have India in its corner to counter China, Mearsheimer pointed out that India wouldn’t be caving in to this pressure, won’t cut import of oil from Russia, and move closer to Moscow and Beijing. All contrary to US strategic aims.
John Bolton, CNN: Trump’s former national security adviser slammed the tariffs on India, saying they were having the opposite effect to what was intended. Bolton also called out Trump’s bias and lenient treatment of China. In fact, Trump’s heavy tariffs on India and leniency towards China could be seen as sacrificing US strategic interests in Trump’s “zeal for a deal” with Xi Jinping. Per Bolton, the situation could also see India, China and Russia negotiate together against US.
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