Steep US tariffs strained ties with India, stalled momentum within Quad: Senate report

US tariffs imposed on India in 2025 triggered a "crisis of trust" between the two countries and slowed momentum in the Quad partnership, according to a report released by Democratic members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

The report says that steep tariffs introduced by the Donald Trump administration in August 2025 strained relations with India, one of Washington’s most important strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific.

“In India, a country with which the past five American Presidents and both parties in Congress have sought to build a lasting strategic partnership, President Trump imposed tariffs… so steep that it provoked a crisis of trust in the relationship,” the report said.

The document states that the standoff lasted for six months and was partly driven by tensions over India’s continued imports of Russian oil and Washington’s efforts to claim credit for mediating the 2025 India-Pakistan conflict.

According to the report, the dispute strengthened political voices within India that have historically opposed closer strategic cooperation with the United States.

“The crisis emboldened the Russia-aligned voices in India that have long resisted meaningful cooperation between the world’s two largest democracies,” the report said.

The tensions also affected the Quad grouping, which includes the United States, India, Japan, and Australia.

The report said the dispute “stalled momentum” within the Quad and led to the postponement of a planned US–India Leaders’ Summit.

This diplomatic pause created opportunities for both China and Russia to deepen engagement with New Delhi.

The report notes that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on multiple occasions during this period.

It also highlighted PM Modi’s visit to China — the first in seven years — as an example of how geopolitical dynamics shifted during the dispute.

The report says such developments demonstrate how tensions between Washington and New Delhi can reshape strategic alignments in Asia.

The Indo-Pacific region is central to global geopolitics, accounting for roughly half the world’s population and nearly two-thirds of the global economy, the report notes.

For the United States, maintaining strong partnerships in the region — particularly with India — is considered critical to balancing China’s growing economic and military power.

But the Senate report warns that inconsistent policies toward allies risk undermining that strategy.

“Over the past year, tariff policies, termination of foreign assistance programs, and wavering commitments to allies… have called into question America’s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the report said.

China, the report adds, has taken advantage of these tensions by increasing military activity in the Taiwan Strait and strengthening economic influence across the region.

The findings come at a time when the United States and India have sought to deepen defence cooperation and technology partnerships while managing differences over trade and Russia policy.

Picture Courtesy: IANS