Chicago: Eminent Indian American physician and community leader Dr Bharat Barai has cautioned that India-United States relations could remain strained in the near future unless Washington rolls back recent tariff measures, arguing that New Delhi has been unfairly targeted amid shifting global trade and energy dynamics.
In an interview with IANS, Dr Barai said the steady momentum built in bilateral ties over several US administrations had suffered a setback following President Donald Trump's return to the White House. He attributed the deterioration largely to trade actions that he described as politically driven rather than grounded in sound economic reasoning.
Acknowledging that the United States does run a trade deficit with India, Dr Barai said addressing the imbalance should have followed a calibrated approach. "If you impose tariffs purely on economic grounds to correct a trade deficit, that is one thing," he said. "But imposing a 25 percent so-called reciprocal duty to wipe out the deficit is excessive. It should have been much lower, closer to 15 percent."
Dr Barai was particularly critical of the additional 25 percent duty imposed as a penalty linked to India's imports of Russian oil. While condemning Russia's actions in Ukraine, he argued that India had become an "innocent bystander casualty" of an inconsistent policy framework. He pointed out that China imports more Russian oil than India but has avoided similar penalties due to its dominance in rare earth metals, which are critical for electric vehicles, defence systems and advanced aircraft.
"China has a Trump card, and that is rare earth metals," he said, noting the heavy dependence of the US and Europe on Chinese supplies. He also highlighted that several European countries continue to import Russian energy without facing comparable punitive measures. "Why single out India with an additional 25 per cent duty when China is at 47 per cent overall and most European countries are around 15 per cent? There is no extra duty on countries like Hungary or Slovenia," he added.
Dr Barai attributed the tariff decisions to a small group within the administration, naming President Trump, immigration hardliner Stephen Miller and trade adviser Peter Navarro as key influencers. He claimed that many members of Congress privately disagreed with the policy but feared political retaliation. According to him, recent electoral outcomes in states such as New Jersey and Virginia, as well as a mayoral election in Miami, reflected growing public dissatisfaction with what he described as arbitrary policymaking.
On the future of bilateral ties, Dr Barai said relations could remain frozen unless a trade agreement removes the additional duties. He noted that some Indian companies, including Reliance, had reduced Russian oil imports following sanctions on specific Russian firms, but stressed that India could not abruptly abandon a major energy source. Serving a population of 1.4 billion, he said, required access to reliable and affordable energy, noting that Russia accounts for only about 35 percent of India's oil imports, with the rest sourced from the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
Dr Barai praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for handling pressure from Washington "very diplomatically" and acting in India's national interest. He also argued that India's global standing had improved over the past year, citing stronger ties with Europe, a free trade agreement with the UK, deeper engagement with Africa and a recent defence pact with Australia. "India is respected more than before, except maybe in the United States," he said. (IANS)
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