US strategy seeks improved ties with India amid tariff friction

Amid strained India-US ties over trade disputes and punitive tariffs, a new National Security Strategy released by the White House today emphasised the need to “improve commercial and other relations with New Delhi”.

It also underlined the strategic role of India and Japan in the US calculus for maintaining equilibrium vis-à-vis China in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

The strategy document, uploaded on the White House website, carries the stamp and seal of US President Donald Trump, who in August imposed a 50 per cent tariff on India, including a 25 per cent punitive duty linked to its purchase of Russian crude oil.

The report states: “We must continue to improve commercial (and other) relations with India to encourage New Delhi to contribute to Indo-Pacific security, including through continued quadrilateral cooperation with Australia, Japan and the US.” All four countries are members of the Quad.

The report terms the South China Sea a “security challenge” and warns that any competitor could seek to control it. Without naming China, it says “a potentially hostile power (can) impose a toll system over one of the world’s most vital lanes of commerce or — worse — close and reopen it at will”.

The strategy calls for “strong measures”, backed by deterrence, to ensure those sea lanes remain open, free of “tolls”, and not subject to unilateral closure by any single country.

“This will require not just further investment in our military — especially naval — capabilities, but also strong cooperation with every nation that stands to suffer, from India to Japan and beyond, if this problem is not addressed,” it notes.

China is locked in maritime territorial disputes with five other countries, has made expansive claims over the waters of its neighbours and seeks to impose restrictions on commercial shipping.

Further, the report advises the US to work with its treaty allies and partners — who together add another $35 trillion in economic power to the US’ own $30-trillion economy. It also takes an unnamed swipe at China, saying such cooperation can “counteract predatory economic practices and ensure that allied economies do not become subordinate to any competing power”.

“We will also work to align actions of our allies and partners with our joint interest in preventing domination by any single competitor nation,” it adds. The strategy also points to China’s recycling of $1.3 trillion of its trade surpluses into loans for partner countries.

“America should similarly enlist our European and Asian allies and partners, including India, to cement and improve our joint positions in the Western Hemisphere and, with regard to critical minerals, in Africa,” it says.

The report also claims that Trump leveraged his deal-making ability, citing his role in getting India and Pakistan to pause their conflict in May. India has consistently denied any US involvement, maintaining that Pakistan sought the May 10 ceasefire on its own.