Trump tariffs threaten to "destroy" 25 years of US-India partnership, warn former diplomats

By Reena Bhardwaj

Washington, DC [US], September 11 (ANI): A prominent Democrat lawmaker, along with several former US diplomats, have warned that President Donald Trump's recent tariff policies and diplomatic missteps risk undoing 25 years of carefully built US-India strategic partnership.

The alarm was raised during an emergency conference call organised by Congressman Ro Khanna, the co-chair of the Congressional India Caucus and a vocal critic of President Trump, featuring former US ambassadors to India, Rich Verma and Eric Garcetti, along with venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and other tech industry leaders from the diaspora.

Mounting Concerns

The urgency of the call reflects escalating concerns within the Indian-American political establishment. Just a week prior, Khanna had posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) addressing the deteriorating US-India relationship, signalling his growing alarm over the administration's approach to New Delhi.

Khanna emphasised the critical nature of the moment, telling participants: "I wouldn't have pulled this call urgently and asked Vinod Khosla and the ambassadors to get on, and all of you to get on if it wasn't important. I wanted to sound the alarm about what's going on."

'Damage Has Been Done'

Rich Verma, who served as US Ambassador to India under President Obama, delivered a stark assessment of the current state of relations. "I couldn't believe what I witnessed in a two-month period that the President wiped out 24 years, 25 years of progress," he said.

Verma traced the relationship back to President Clinton's historic 2000 visit to India, when America chose to "de-hyphenate" its India-Pakistan policy and pursue an independent partnership with New Delhi. This marked the beginning of what he described as 25 years of bipartisan cooperation across four key areas- trade and economics, people-to-people ties, clean energy, and defence and security.

The former ambassador expressed particular concern about Trump's decision to invite Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff to the Oval Office for the first time in US history, describing it as "reinserting the hyphen" back into the India-Pakistan relationship.

Trust Eroded

Both former ambassadors highlighted trust as the relationship's core vulnerability. "If we had one vulnerability in the relationship, it was trust. Could the Indians trust us to be that reliable strategic partner," Verma said. "Unfortunately, the last few months have proven to the Indian sceptics that we cannot be trusted."

Eric Garcetti, who served as Ambassador to India until recently, warned of the "deepest set of blows...we've seen in over 20 years." He noted that recent events represent more than tactical disagreements over trade deals, describing them as fundamental shifts that "don't go away overnight on the street in India."

Congressional Leadership Mobilises

As co-chair of the India Caucus, Khanna has been at the forefront of efforts to maintain strong bilateral ties. His decision to convene the emergency call with such high-profile participants underscores the gravity with which congressional leadership views the current crisis.

Garcetti noted during the call that he had previously worked with current National Security Advisor Mike Waltz when both Khanna and Waltz served as co-chairs of the India Caucus, highlighting the traditionally bipartisan nature of India policy that is now under strain.

Call to Action

The group outlined specific actions for the business and tech community, urging them to engage with both Republican and Democratic lawmakers. Khanna specifically called for pressure on Republican members of Congress regarding the strategic importance of the relationship and for Democrats to become more active on social media.

"This is the time to get involved, to talk to Congress people, senators," Khanna stressed. "This could really undermine 30 years of hard work."

Broader Implications

The diplomatic crisis comes at a time when both nations face shared challenges from China's rise and need for cooperation on critical technologies, supply chains, and energy production. Garcetti noted that India and the US "are on the same trajectory, the same path," making the current tensions particularly concerning for long-term strategic interests.

The former ambassadors also raised concerns about anti-Indian rhetoric emerging from some quarters, with Garcetti warning about "racist tropes" and "anti-nationalist messages" targeting both India and Indian-Americans.

Despite the current tensions, both former diplomats expressed cautious optimism about the relationship's underlying strength, citing deep connections between companies, innovators, educators, and families that transcend political leadership changes.

The emergency call underscores growing anxiety within the Indian-American community about the future of a relationship that many consider crucial for addressing global challenges from technology competition to regional security. (ANI)

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