Today, a 50 percent tariff on most Indian goods went into effect, the latest evidence of how the Trump administration’s attempts at trade diplomacy with India have quietly unraveled into a broader strategic standoff. This development risks compromising decades of work under Republican and Democratic administrations that sought to build a durable US-India strategic relationship to serve, among other things, as a counterweight to a rising China. In its pursuit of a narrowly framed “trade deal,” the administration has overreached, alienating a key partner. In doing so, it has underestimated both the structural sensitivities of the Indian economy and the strategic implications of overreliance on coercive diplomacy.
The Trump administration needs a strategic reset with India – Atlantic Council
