India bets on Modi-Trump warmth to navigate choppy future with US
Al Jazeera
Tariffs and Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric could hurt India. The Modi-Trump friendship could be a saviour.
New Delhi, India — During his campaign for re-election, Donald Trump repeatedly threatened major tariffs on imports from a range of countries. Beijing bore the brunt of his attention — he threatened a 60 percent tariff on Chinese products. But India was a major target, too — he described the country as a “major charger” of tariffs, and promised to do the same in return.
Now, as Trump prepares to take office again after a stunning win over Vice President Kamala Harris in the US presidential election, his plans for trade barriers and his anti-immigrant rhetoric threaten to inject tensions into bilateral relations with India.
The US is India’s largest export destination and consistently ranks among its top two trade partners.
“India-US relations could actually get strained if all these election promises that Trump made are implemented,” said Biswajit Dhar, a distinguished professor at the Council for Social Development, New Delhi. “If he goes through with them, this will be very, very bad news for India.”
But there is a ray of hope said Dhar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal “bonhomie” with Trump could help New Delhi navigate an otherwise bumpy road ahead.
