“India must be treated like the prized free and democratic partner that it is, not an adversary like China, which has thus far avoided sanctions for its Russian oil purchases, despite being one of Moscow’s largest customers,” said Trump’s Republican colleague.
Washington: Former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has warned that Washington-New Delhi relations are on the verge of a breakdown amid Donald Trump’s administration’s punitive tariffs on India over its Russian oil trade, and that reviving the relationship is essential if America is to restrain China’s expanding global aspirations. Haley stated in a Newsweek opinion piece released on Wednesday that the Trump administration cannot allow the tariff debate or the US’s involvement in the India-Pakistan truce to cause a rift between two of the biggest democracies in the world and that India should not be viewed as an enemy like China.
An explosive series of events has occurred in India-US relations in recent weeks. The Trump administration has imposed 25% tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, on top of the 25% duty the US has already placed on Indian goods. These events came after months of rising hostilities, which included New Delhi’s rejection of the US’s offer to mediate a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
Getting US-India relations back on track is not as important as achieving the Trump administration’s foreign policy goals, which include outcompeting China and achieving peace through strength, she wrote.
Haley, a Republican colleague of Trump, has endorsed Trump for the 2024 presidential campaign but has continued to be a vocal Trump critic. In contrast to China, which has so far escaped sanctions for its purchases of Russian oil despite being one of Moscow’s biggest clients, she stated that “India must be treated like the prized free and democratic partner that it is—not an adversary.”
She cautioned, “It would be a strategic disaster to scuttle 25 years of momentum with the only nation that can act as a counterweight to Chinese dominance in Asia.”
According to Haley, New Delhi is crucial to Washington’s short-term objectives in assisting it in shifting its vital supply chains away from China.
“India is unique in its ability to manufacture at a scale comparable to China for products that cannot be produced quickly or efficiently here, such as textiles, low-cost phones, and solar panels, even as the Trump administration seeks to bring manufacturing back to our shores.”
In terms of defense, she said that New Delhi’s growing military connections with Washington’s allies, such as Israel, not only make India an important market for US defense hardware but also contribute to the security of the free world.
As America looks to send fewer troops and dollars to the Middle East, she added, India’s increasing influence and security involvement in the region may prove crucial in aiding in its stabilization. India’s centrality to China’s vital trade and energy flows, Haley emphasized, could make Beijing’s options more difficult in the event of a major conflict.
“India’s importance is even more significant in the long run. With a younger workforce than China’s aging one, India, which is home to more than a sixth of the world’s population, overtook China as the most populous nation in 2023, she said.
The fastest-growing major economy in the world is India, whose ascent, according to Haley, is the most important geopolitical event since China’s and one of the biggest challenges to China’s ambition to alter the global order.
In other words, as India’s power increases, China’s aspirations will have to decrease. However, the emergence of a democratic India does not pose a threat to the free world, in contrast to China under Communist rule,” she continued.
During Trump’s first administration, Nimarata Nikki Randhawa Haley served as the 29th ambassador of the United States to the UN, from January 2017 to December 2018. She held the distinction of being the first Indian American to hold a cabinet position in the presidency.
