News Brief
Kerry, Bolton Lead Chorus Of Former US Officials Warning Against Trump’s Tariffs On India
US Secretary of State John Kerry (FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images)
Former US Secretary of State John Kerry has voiced concern over President Donald Trump’s handling of relations with allies such as India, cautioning that the current approach risks undermining long-standing partnerships.
Speaking at the ET World Leaders Forum, Kerry said the strain in India-US ties was “unfortunate,” criticising Trump’s reliance on ultimatums instead of diplomacy.
“We are concerned. This struggle between President Trump and PM Modi is unfortunate. Great nations don't necessarily exhibit greatness by giving people ultimatums all the time without sort of a genuine diplomatic effort to try to find common ground and do things through the normal course of business,” he remarked.
Kerry, who served under President Barack Obama, contrasted the earlier phase of bilateral ties with the present.
He recalled that during the Obama administration, negotiations were based on cooperation and respect, but under Trump there had been “a little bit too much ordering, pressuring, and pushing around.”
Tensions between New Delhi and Washington have escalated in recent weeks.
The Trump administration imposed secondary tariffs on India for continuing to import Russian oil, while reports suggest further friction arose after New Delhi rejected Trump’s suggestion of playing a peacemaking role in its conflict with Pakistan.
As a result, tariffs on Indian exports to the US now exceed 50 percent.
Despite the rift, Kerry said he hoped the trade dispute could be resolved.
He praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal as friends and admired India’s negotiating stance.
Kerry’s remarks add to a growing chorus of criticism from former US officials and policy experts who believe Trump’s policies risk alienating India.
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton had earlier accused the President of jeopardising decades of American diplomatic efforts to distance India from Russia and China, warning that a pro-China bias could be an “enormous mistake.”
He also told CNN that tariffs meant to hurt Russia could ironically push India closer to Moscow and Beijing, potentially encouraging joint negotiations against the United States.
Other experts have voiced similar concerns. Christopher Padilla, a former US trade official, said the tariff measures could cause lasting harm to India-US ties, raising doubts about America’s reliability as a partner since such punitive actions would not be easily forgotten.
Prominent economist Jeffrey Sachs was even more scathing, calling Trump’s tariff policy “the stupidest tactical move in US foreign policy.”
He argued that the penalties on India were not strategy but sabotage.
“These tariffs on India are not a strategy; they're sabotage... The imposition of the 25 per cent penalty tariff on India, what it did overnight was unify the BRICS countries as never before,” Sachs said.
