Source: Reference News
Reference News Network reported on October 22 The Australian “Pearl and Stimulation” website published an article on October 20 titled “The Broken American Dream of India” by Srujana Bodapatti.
For more than 30 years, India has gradually formed an “alliance” with the United States in a state of dependence: this humiliating reality has been exposed in recent months.
For months, India has been hit by the U.S. and Trump governments: U.S. tariffs of 50% on Indian imports of U.S. goods, demanded that the EU impose tariffs of 100% on India, revoked U.S. sanctions exemptions on Iran’s Chabahar port operations (the port is extremely important to India), and imposed sanctions on Indian companies and individuals engaged in Russian oil trade. In addition, it was decided to charge $100,000 for H-1B visa applicants.
Trump called India the "king of tariffs" and imposed a 25% tariff on Indian goods, mainly because India refused to let its farmers compete with large American farmers who received heavy subsidies. He also imposed a further 25% tariff, while accusing India of funding Russia's actions against Ukraine.
Before the tariff crackdown is over, India faces another challenge: Iran's Chabahar port, developed and operated by India, has been sanctioned.
Chabahar Port, India’s most important project overseas, is an important component of India’s strategic interconnectivity. It provides India with a pathway to Afghanistan and Central Asia while bypassing long-hostile Pakistan with India. This port is also at the heart of India’s trade strategy, connecting Europe and Eurasia through the North-South International Transport Corridor that cooperates with Iran and Russia, significantly reducing the cost of shipping goods from India to Northern Europe through multi-modal transportation. When U.S. sanctions against Iran threatened this project, India was granted an exemption from Chabahar Port during Trump’s first term.
The Trump administration has further pressured India, whether intentionally or unintentionally, by significantly increasing H-1B visa fees. In recent years, about 70% of H-1B visa recipients are Indians. The United States has become an increasingly important source of overseas transfers in India. Most immigrants cannot afford such high visa fees, and the cost of U.S. companies hiring Indians has also become high and may significantly reduce transfers to India, while foreign exchange transfers are critical to international receipts in India.
Trump once overturned India’s long-standing assessment of its relationship with Washington. Since Obama’s proposal to “return to Asia-Pacific,” recent Indian governments have accepted U.S. claims that the US-India relationship will be one of India’s most important relationships in the 21st century. On this basis, India has increasingly invested in its economic strategy and foreign policy in its growing geopolitical relationship with the United States.
Therefore, the Indian government and the establishment seem at a loss and don't know how to deal with Trump's statements. These statements will not only have direct economic implications for India, but will also damage India's long-term economic and geostrategic plans.
The Indian government’s response to tariffs has so far been relatively silent, deliberately refraining from talking about tariffs or other issues.
The Indian establishment believes it plays a crucial role in helping the United States contain China, and believes it is capable ofining strategic autonomy.This autonomy is crucial to India's economic and strategic needs, and also means having good relations with U.S. rivals such as Iran and Russia, which the Indians believe the U.S. will tolerate.
In Trump's second term, the Indian elite is clearly aware of the cost of an alliance with the United States: India can only become a subordinate ally. This means that India's national interests and sovereignty must be placed under the priorities of the United States. But the Indian government refuses to admit this. They hope that this difficult stage is only a temporary phenomenon, and it is due to Trump's personality. (Compilation/Zhao Feifei)