In recent times, there have been spirited discussions alleging India’s relationship with the United States of America is undergoing a shift — in Washington’s favour. India’s Opposition, for instance, has accused the Narendra Modi government of yielding significant concessions to the US in its trade pact with that country in the face of intimidation. Of late, the linguistic framing of Washington’s 30-day leeway to Indian refiners to buy Russian oil has also been criticised for its purported projection of India as a vassal state. Where does India then stand in the US’s scheme of things under Donald Trump? This is a query that can be speculated upon. A calmer but revealing assessment came by way of a remark made by Christopher Landau, the US’s deputy secretary of state, at the Raisina Dialogue. Mr Landau underlined that India is a key partner of the US. But, he added a caveat, stating that New Delhi could not hope to get concessions in the manner that China had received, largesse that enabled Beijing to subsequently emerge as Washington’s key rival. Be they American sanctions against China’s adversaries that Beijing profited from, or Washington’s granting of the most-favoured status on China, or the former’s facilitation of the latter into the World Trade Organisation, among other favours, each of these measures, the US realises in hindsight, propelled China’s rise at the expense of American dominance. Washington will not repeat these errors with New Delhi.
The inference that New Delhi ought to draw from Mr Landau’s telling remark is this. While India’s partnership remains crucial to the US’s interests globally and in the region, it will be underscored by transactionalism — the key mantra in Mr Trump’s rulebook. The principles of reciprocity, even disproportionate reciprocity, and
the US’s own national interests would guide America’s trajectory of cooperation vis-à-vis India — and not just in trade and economic matters — at least as long as Mr Trump is in the presidential office. This is an acknowledgement of New Delhi’s potential: Washington appears acutely aware of India’s economic heft and the lure of its market. But it is also a challenge. New Delhi can no longer afford to ignore the harder, competitive, transactional edges that will colour its ties with Washington. How India navigates these emerging, unpredictable tides would be a test of its diplomatic and political acumen.