Page 40 - Us India Relations

Donald Trump's move towards multipolarity suits India, says Jaishankar

The US administration under President Donald Trump is moving towards multipolarity which suits India's interests, and the two nations have agreed on the need for a bilateral trade pact, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar said. During a session titled India's rise and role in the world' at the Chatham House think tank in London on Wednesday evening, the EAM was asked about his thoughts on the first few weeks of the new US government and, specifically, about Trump's reciprocal tariffs. We see a president and an administration which, in our parlance, is moving towards multipolarity and that is something that suits India, said Jaishankar, who is on a six-day visit to the UK and Ireland. From President Trump's perspective, the one big shared enterprise that we have is the Quad, which is an understanding where everybody pays their fair share There are no free riders involved. So that's a good model which works, he said. The Quad alliance consists of the US, India, Australia and

Engineering goods exports to US up 18% in Jan; tariff threat looms: EEPC

India's engineering goods exports to the United States recorded an 18 per cent year-on-year growth in January 2025, reaching USD 1.62 billion, even as overall engineering shipments grew at a modest 7.44 per cent, according to EEPC India. This comes on a day US President Donald Trump criticised the high tariffs charged by India and other countries, terming them as "very unfair" and announced reciprocal tariffs from April 2 on nations that impose levies on American goods. During the April-January period of the current financial year, engineering exports to the US rose nearly 9 per cent to USD 15.60 billion from USD 14.38 billion in the corresponding period last year, it said. Exports to the UAE grew 56 per cent year-on-year to USD 610 million in January, while cumulative shipments rose 45 per cent to USD 6.87 billion during the 10-month period of FY25. Despite geopolitical tensions and growing trade protectionism, India's engineering exports have maintained positive growth for the ni

CBI sends request to US seeking information in Rs 64 crore Bofors case

The CBI has sent a judicial request to the United States seeking information from private investigator Michael Hershman, who had expressed willingness to share with Indian agencies crucial details about the Rs 64-crore Bofors bribery scandal of the 1980s, officials said Wednesday. Hershman, head of the Fairfax Group, visited India in 2017 to attend a conference of private detectives. During his stay, he appeared on various platforms, alleging that the investigation into the scam was derailed by the then Congress government and stated he was willing to share details with the CBI. He had claimed in an interview that he was appointed by the Union Finance Ministry in 1986 for investigation of violation of currency control laws and money laundering by Indians abroad and tracking of such assets outside India and some of them pertained to the Bofors deal. The CBI also approached the Finance Ministry seeking documents pertaining to engagement of Hershman and if any report was submitted by

Shift towards developed markets: India's FTA needle turns to the West

Indian industry always preferred to have deeper trade relations with traditional markets - EU and the US- as it offers industry greater complementarity

Piyush Goyal heads to US for talks as Trump tariffs loom, say officials

Goyal's visit was sudden, as he departed after cancelling previously scheduled meetings until March 8

Commerce minister Piyush Goyal to meet USTR ahead of tariff rollout

During US visit, commerce minister also expected to meet his US counterpart

Indian tariffs are WTO compliant; Centre should convey to US: GTRI

India's import duties are in compliance with the global trade rules and the government should convey this to the US administration, economic think tank GTRI said on Sunday. It also said that negotiating a comprehensive free trade agreement with the US presents several challenges. The US may push India to open government procurement to American firms, reduce agricultural subsidies, weaken patent protections by allowing evergreening, and remove restrictions on data flows, it said, adding India has resisted these demands for decades and is still not prepared to accept. US President Donald Trump on multiple occasions have alleged that India has high tariffs and termed it "tariff king" and "tariff abuser". Tariffs are import duties imposed and collected by the government and paid by companies to bring foreign goods into the country. "India's tariffs are consistent with WTO (World Trade Organisation) rules. "They are the result of a single undertaking at the WTO which all countries ...

India has lower exposure to US tariffs than peers in Apac region: Moody's

Moody's Ratings on Tuesday said India has a lower overall exposure to the US relative to others in the APAC region, although certain sectors such as food, textiles and pharmaceutical products face risks. Moody's said most companies in its rated portfolio are domestic-focused with limited exposure to the US market. To mitigate pressure from reciprocal tariffs, the US and India are reportedly engaged in talks to lower import tariffs on select US products, increase market access for US farm products and increase US energy purchases, while seeking to initiate a trade deal by the fall of 2025. Across APAC, developing countries like India, Vietnam and Thailand have among the widest rate differentials relative to the US, Moody's said. It said electronics, motor vehicles, food and textiles are the most exposed sectors. In addition to the hit from lower export demand, a key risk facing emerging economies in the region is that those aiming to nurture an export-led growth model similar to Chi

India-US tech ties will have long-lasting effect, says Vijay Chauthaiwale

Tariffs are definitely a concern, especially in sectors where our exports are high but we need to remember that it will also impact US consumers, said Vijay Chauthaiwale

UK, EU step up FTA talks with India in US President Donald Trump era

Piyush Goyal to meet UK, EU officials this week

USAID funded 7 projects worth $750 mn in India in FY24: FinMin report

Amid a raging political controversy over USAID's alleged role in influencing Indian elections, the latest annual report of the finance ministry has disclosed that the agency funded seven projects worth USD 750 million in 2023-24. "Currently, seven projects worth a total budget of USD 750 million (approx.) are being implemented by USAID in partnership with Government of India," as per the Finance Ministry annual report for 2023-24. For the financial year 2023-24, an obligation of a total of USD 97 million (about Rs 825 crore) has been made by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) under the seven projects, it said. The Department of Economic Affairs under the Finance Ministry which is the nodal department for bilateral funding arrangements has also shared the details of projects funded in 2023-24 in the report. During the year, no funding was made for enhancing voter turnout but to projects related to agriculture & food security programme; water, sanitation and hygiene

Govt looking into it, facts will come out: Jaishankar on USAID funding row

Amid a row over USAID funding for certain activities in the country, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said the information put out by Trump administration people is "concerning" and that the government is looking into it. During an interaction at an event here late evening, he also said USAID was allowed in India "in good faith, to do good faith activities", and suggestions are being made out of America that "there are activities which are in bad faith". "So, it surely warrants a look. And, if there is something to it, I think the country should know who are the people involved in the bad faith activities," the external affairs minister said. Jaishankar during the discussion also asserted that "our idea of security actually has to expand in a tech world". Besides, armed forces, civilian police ensuring law enforcement, security is also about "how your thought processes are influenced, how narratives are set, how facts are presented to you, how your mind moulded ..

US President Donald Trump vows to impose reciprocal tariffs on India, China

Trump made the remarks during a press conference in which he was asked about the meeting of Tesla CEO Elon Musk with PM Modi

De-dollarisation of oil purchases has never been objective: Hardeep Puri

Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep S Puri said on Friday that de-dollarisation of oil purchases was never the objective, emphasising that "most transactions are in dollars and always have been". Instead, he clarified that the primary objective is to procure sufficient oil "at lower prices" to help control inflation. "De-dollarisation is not an objective at all. Most of these (oil) transactions are in dollars and always have been. We had one transaction in rupees, but I think it was a very small one. Transactions in rupees are a good thing, but it takes two to tango," Puri told PTI during a press conference. Exuding confidence that India has established contacts with the new US administration led by President Donald Trump, he said the Indo-American relationship on the energy front will deepen. According to the Union Minister, India is already purchasing energy worth up to USD 20 billion from the US, emphasising that Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently had a very ...

'Deeply concerning': MEA reacts to Trump's claim on $21 mn USAID funding

Relevant departments and agencies are looking into this matter, said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Donald Trump's remarks regarding the '$21 million allocation to India for voter turnout'

VP Jagdeep Dhankhar urges exposure of those behind attack on democracy

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday voiced concern over the alleged USAID funding for raising voter turnout in India, saying people who allowed such an attack on the country's democratic values should be exposed. He also said that it was the "national duty" of people to strike at such forces. Addressing an event in Miami on Thursday, US President Donald Trump once again questioned the USAID funding of USD 21 million for voter turnout in India, and said "I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected". Speaking at an event on meditation here, Dhankhar said the remarks on USAID funding came from a person of authority and that it was a fact that money was given. Calling for the use of "Chanakya niti" to get into the root of the controversy, he said the problem should be eradicated from its roots. "People who allowed such kind of an attack (to allegedly damage the electoral purity) should be exposed," he said. He also said delivering a body blow to such forces is the ...

India must push 'zero for zero' strategy to address US tariffs threat: GTRI

India should propose a 'zero-for-zero' tariff strategy to the US for addressing America's proposed reciprocal tariff hikes, as it would be less harmful than negotiating a full bilateral trade agreement, economic think tank GTRI said in its report on Friday. Under this strategy, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) suggested the government identify tariff lines (or product categories) where India can eliminate import duties for American imports without harming domestic industries and agriculture. In lieu of that, the US should also remove duties on a similar number of goods. India can exclude most agriculture items from this list and to prepare it, India can refer to its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) tariff offers to Japan, Korea, and ASEAN as a starting point, it added. GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said this list should be discussed with the US before April, ahead of its reciprocal tariff announcement. It will be like doing a quick FTA in goods and if the US accepts, the ...

Indian drugmakers bank on bilateral talks for relief from US tariffs

India, which calls itself the 'pharmacy of the world', makes cheaper generic versions of complex innovative drugs in its massive factory clusters and exports them to over 200 countries

'Please help us': Indians among 300 US deportees stranded in Panama

Nearly 300 US deportees, including Indians, stranded in Panama as the authorities scramble to send them home. Detainees plead for aid from hotel windows

Foreign secy Misri briefs Parliamentary body following PM Modi's US visit

India-US relations were at the centre of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's briefing to a parliamentary committee here on Wednesday, with members quizzing him on a host of issues, including the deportation of illegal Indian immigrants from the US. Sources said Misri assured members of the Standing Committee on External Affairs about the measures being taken by the Indian government to ensure that deportees are not mistreated. The committee's chairperson Shashi Tharoor said it was a "very thorough briefing", noting that the discussion focused mostly on the US because of Prime Minister Narendra Moi's recent visit to the country. The meeting's agenda was "current foreign policy developments". Tharoor said, "Every question you can imagine to do with the Indo-US relationship in the context of the prime minister's visit was raised, discussed and the foreign secretary gave all necessary answers." Other issues involving current developments, including the visit of the Qatar Amir to India, w