Washington, Dec 11 (LatestNewsX) – A Congressional hearing was dominated by sharp political rebuke, as Democrats cautioned that President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda and his hostile stance toward New Delhi could do lasting harm to one of the United States’ most important alliances.
During the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia’s session on the U.S.–India strategic relationship, Ranking Member Sydney Kamlager‑Dove slammed the president for undermining decades of bipartisan progress. She noted that the Biden administration had handed Trump “a bilateral relationship at the height of its strength,” citing “a revitalised Quad, a budding defence tech partnership and a trusted supply chain partner,” only for it to be “flush, flush, flush down the toilet.”
Kamlager‑Dove warned that history may judge Trump harshly. “Unless he changes course, Trump will be the American President who lost India,” she said. “You do not get a Nobel Peace Prize by driving strategic partners into the arms of our adversaries.”
The focus of the criticism was Trump’s 25 % “Liberation Day” tariffs, followed by an additional 25 % levy on Indian imports of Russian oil – a cumulative 50 % tariff load. “The tariff rate on India is currently higher than the tariff rate on China,” she argued, calling the policy self‑defeating.
Democrats also accused Trump of attacking people‑to‑people ties by imposing a $100 000 fee on H‑1B visas, “70 per cent of which are held by Indians,” labeling the move as “a rebuke of the incredible contributions Indians have made” in the U.S.
Dhruva Jaishankar from ORF America testified that trade talks “began before February 13” and that by July, the two sides had “reached quite close” to an agreement. He affirmed that India is actively pursuing free‑trade deals and that “a solution… is at hand” if Washington shows political will.
Other witnesses cautioned that the tariff dispute could eclipse urgent strategic objectives such as counter‑China efforts and supply‑chain stabilization. “This has been a low‑cost, high‑benefit partnership for the United States,” a panelist said. “It would be strategic malpractice of the highest order to discard the trust we have built.”
The hearing underscored that the tariff spat has become the most politically charged element of the U.S.–India relationship – a confrontation with wide‑ranging geopolitical fallout.
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