A partnership at a crossroads: The new reality of US-India relations

THE relationship between the US and India, once hailed as one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century, is now under its most significant strain in decades.

What began as a promising strategic alliance built on shared democratic values and mutual economic interests has devolved into a transactional relationship marked by escalating trade disputes, divergent geopolitical priorities, and fundamental disagreements over India’s foreign policy autonomy.

This deterioration manifested on Aug 6, when US President Donald Trump imposed a punitive 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods, doubling the previously announced rate. Justified as a penalty for India’s continued Russian oil imports, the move is more than a trade dispute – it signals a breakdown in the strategic understanding that has underpinned US-India relations for two decades.