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COVER STORY OCTOBER 24, 2025 | The Indian Eye 5
to “a dance where both partners keep India’s response has been measured
stepping on each other’s toes, but nei- and strategic. Rather than issuing
ther wants to leave the floor.” sharp public statements, it is quietly
Three issues continue to define strengthening its internal economy
the relationship and generate fric- and expanding diplomatic outreach.
tion: immigration, trade, and Paki- This restraint reflects a long-term
stan. The first is now symbolized by calculation: Trump’s presidency, how-
the H-1B fee controversy, which In- ever turbulent, is just one phase in a
dian officials view as punitive rather relationship that will outlast any indi-
than reformist. Trump’s aides defend vidual leader.
the measure as necessary to protect India’s foreign-policy establish-
American workers, but the backlash ment now views the United States
from U.S. corporations and universi- less as a benefactor and more as a
ties reveals the policy’s self-defeating partner whose priorities fluctuate
logic. The second irritant, tariffs, is a with its domestic politics. The Modi
long-running dispute about how fast government’s bet is that enduring in-
India should open its markets. Trump US Commerce Secretary Scott Bessent has been talking tough on trade deal and import of terests—shared concern over China’s
demands “reciprocal” trade access assertiveness, mutual dependence in
and faster liberalization, while New Russian oil (ANI File Photo) technology, and the vast Indian dias-
Delhi insists that domestic industries pora’s influence—will ensure that the
must be allowed to mature. The third The President’s outreach to Paki- itics, but he cannot change the under- partnership survives Trump’s periodic
and most politically sensitive issue is stan is a case in point. By reopening lying logic of interdependence.” bouts of protectionism and unpre-
Pakistan. In recent months, Trump limited military-to-military exchang- Trump’s economic nationalism dictability. The American establish-
has sought to rebuild ties with Islam- es and lifting some aid restrictions, has also pushed India to accelerate ment, too, remains invested in the
abad, praising its “constructive role” Trump hopes to restore U.S. influence its own diversification. Trade talks relationship. The Chamber of Com-
in counterterrorism and reopening in South Asia. His aides call it prag- with the European Union, the Unit- merce’s legal challenge to the visa fee
channels of security cooperation that matism; Indian analysts call it nos- ed Arab Emirates, and Australia have is itself a reminder that U.S. business
had gone cold. talgia for a Cold War model that no gained momentum, providing India recognizes the value of Indian talent
For India, the shift is unsettling. longer works. with alternative export markets. The and trade far more than political slo-
After years of being sidelined in Even within the trade sphere, message to Washington is subtle but gans suggest.
Washington, Pakistan suddenly finds the picture is more nuanced than it unmistakable: India values partner- For all the friction, India and the
itself courted again as a regional appears. While Trump’s negotiators ship with the United States but will United States continue to cooperate
partner. U.S. officials argue that co- complain about India’s bureaucracy not be held hostage to its domestic on defense, energy, and digital secu-
ordination with Islamabad is essen- and slow decision-making, American politics. That confidence is reinforced rity. Joint military exercises such as
tial for stability in Afghanistan and companies continue to expand in- by India’s growing stature in the Yudh Abhyas proceed uninterrupted,
counter-terrorism operations. Indian vestment in the Indian market. U.S. Global South and its ability to speak and intelligence sharing has deep-
policymakers view this as a familiar defense and aerospace giants such for developing nations on energy, cli- ened. These quiet continuities matter
American misjudgment—a short- as Boeing and Lockheed Martin are mate, and supply-chain resilience. more than the noisy disputes. The al-
term tactical move that ignores Pa- enlarging local production lines, while Still, Trump’s pressure is real. liance may lack the warmth of earli-
kistan’s long history of nurturing ex- energy and digital-infrastructure The visa fee cuts into India’s compet- er years, but it has gained resilience.
tremist networks. Yet New Delhi has firms see India as a long-term growth itive edge in technology services; the It now rests less on personal rapport
avoided reacting publicly. Instead, it frontier. Beneath the noise of tariff trade impasse limits market access between leaders and more on institu-
is doubling down on a broader diplo- disputes, the commercial foundation for key sectors; and the Pakistan tilt tional depth.
matic strategy that emphasizes diver- of the relationship remains solid. A complicates security dynamics. Yet Trump’s transactional instincts
sification. By strengthening partner- Delhi-based economist observed that none of these challenges has pro- ensure that tension will remain a fea-
ships with Japan, Australia, France, “Trump can slow the process with pol- duced panic in New Delhi. Instead, ture of the partnership. He measures
and the Gulf states, India ensures that relationships in deals and deficits,
no single power, not even the United not in trust or long-term alignment.
States, can hold undue leverage over India’s approach is almost the op-
its foreign policy. posite: patient, layered, and rooted
This quiet confidence is perhaps in continuity. Yet, paradoxically,
the most striking feature of India’s this difference in temperament has
approach. In contrast to 2017, when forced both sides to mature. India no
Trump’s sudden policy shifts left longer seeks validation from Wash-
many governments scrambling, In- ington, and the United States in-
dia now seems unruffled. It engages creasingly acknowledges India as an
Washington where interests align and indispensable player in Asia, even if
resists where they diverge. Econom- disagreements persist.
ic reforms at home, combined with The coming months will test
a more assertive global role—visible whether Trump’s administration can
in India’s leadership of the G20 and translate pressure into genuine part-
participation in the Quad—have giv- nership. So far, India has chosen
en it the confidence to negotiate as pragmatism over provocation. Its dip-
an equal. The government’s strategy lomats are betting that steady engage-
is one of calibrated patience: engage ment will outlast Trump’s volatility.
deeply but never depend entirely, As one senior official in Washington
and outlast the turbulence that comes The proposed hike in the H-1B visa fee may affect Indian firms and techies (Agency file photo) observed, “The President plays for
with Trump’s style of governance. headlines. We play for history.”
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