{"id":457709,"date":"2025-09-28T11:02:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T11:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/457709\/"},"modified":"2025-09-28T11:02:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T11:02:17","slug":"the-u-s-and-india-are-quietly-patching-things-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/457709\/","title":{"rendered":"The U.S. and India Are Quietly Patching Things Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> first term and at the opening of his second, the U.S. President and India\u2019s Prime Minister Narendra Modi looked to have a special relationship. Similar views on the value of strongman domestic politics and a common aim to check China\u2019s global ambitions<\/a> made them well-aligned partners. Things have changed. Common interests remain the bedrock of relations between the U.S. and Modi\u2019s India, but the personal trust that helped build their relationship has now cooled significantly<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You might think the biggest source of tension between the two leaders is Trump\u2019s search for leverage over Russia\u2019s Vladimir Putin\u2014in particular, his bid to halt India\u2019s import of sanctioned Russian oil<\/a> to force Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. But it\u2019s another armed conflict that\u2019s at the heart of the friction. <\/p>\n

When fighting began<\/a> in May between India and Pakistan following a terrorist attack<\/a> in Indian-controlled Kashmir, Trump leaped at the chance to play peacemaker, and he tasked Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio with de-escalating tensions. Despite India\u2019s plans for a joint announcement of a deal to end the fighting, Trump claimed personal credit, and Pakistan compounded Modi\u2019s anger by suggesting Trump deserved a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. Trump then responded to a Pakistani diplomatic charm offensive with lucrative investment deals on energy, cryptocurrencies, and critical minerals. His request that Modi add his support to the U.S. President\u2019s long-standing Nobel ambitions<\/a> even further alienated the Indian Prime Minister, who began to express his frustrations<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Read More: <\/strong>How Modi Misread Trump<\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the background for Trump\u2019s decision in August to impose 50% tariffs on India<\/a>, ostensibly for its continuing purchases of Russian oil. Modi\u2019s response? He accepted an invitation from China\u2019s Xi Jinping to join<\/a> a number of world leaders, notably<\/a> including Putin<\/a>, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin meant to highlight China\u2019s growing diplomatic clout. It was Modi\u2019s first trip to China in seven years. A ride and hour-long chat with Putin in the Russian President\u2019s limousine sent a clear message of defiance that India and its leader would not be pushed around by the White House.<\/p>\n

Modi\u2019s choice to leave Beijing before a triumphalist military parade reflects that permanent interests continue to define the India-China relationship. Washington and Delhi still share a deep mistrust<\/a> of China\u2019s power and Xi\u2019s intent to use it. <\/p>\n

Yet there are now signs that Washington and New Delhi are making progress<\/a> toward limiting damage to the relationship. In particular, recent developments make it more likely<\/a> that the U.S. and India will announce a trade agreement by the end of this year. <\/p>\n

Read More: <\/strong>How Modi Is Sending Trump a Message<\/a><\/p>\n

On the digital front, optimism for a deal rose on Sept. 22 when the two governments reportedly agreed<\/a> not to demand information on source code or other proprietary knowledge as a precondition for U.S. companies doing business in India. U.S. negotiators also hope India will drop restrictions on the import of American soy, a potentially big win for U.S. farmers<\/a> made anxious by the potential impact of tariffs on the sale of their products, especially as China slows its purchases of American produce. Finally, Modi and Trump may well meet<\/a> on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Malaysia in October. That would go a long way toward easing tensions and helping negotiators get to yes on a trade deal.<\/p>\n

Yet, none of this will restore the personal trust that\u2019s been lost between Trump and Modi. Common geopolitical and commercial interests will keep a solid floor under the relationship and continue the longer-term progress of broadening and deepening U.S.-India relations. But the transactional base of relations between the two leaders will continue. New irritants will emerge, as we saw with Trump\u2019s recent announcement of a $100,000 fee<\/a> added to H-1B visas, which allow<\/a> high-skilled foreign workers a chance to work in the U.S. About 70% of H-1B visa holders are Indian nationals. <\/p>\n

What, Modi must wonder, will Trump come up with next? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Donald Trump\u2019s first term and at the opening of his second, the U.S. President and India\u2019s Prime…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":457710,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[27004,49,978,659,4616],"class_list":{"0":"post-457709","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-freelance","9":"tag-united-states","10":"tag-us","11":"tag-usa","12":"tag-world-affairs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115281591939943203","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=457709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/457710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=457709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=457709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=457709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}