U.S.-India Strategic Relationship Faces Strain Under Transactional Approach

Two decades of carefully cultivated U.S.-India relations are unraveling amid President Trump's transactional diplomacy, policy analysts warn. The deterioration follows multiple friction points: retaliatory tariffs on Indian goods, a tenfold increase in H1B visa fees to $100,000, and Trump's repeated claims of mediating the India-Pakistan Kashmir conflict.

Atman Trivedi of DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group notes the damage to bilateral trust may require years to repair. More concerning is Washington's apparent strategic pivot - where previous administrations from Clinton onward Leveraged democratic India as a counterbalance to authoritarian China, Trump's administration appears to prioritize immediate economic gains over long-term geopolitical positioning.

The shift coincides with warming U.S.-China relations, evidenced by Trump's Truth Social post praising his "great" meeting with Xi Jinping and promises of "everlasting peace." Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's subsequent public endorsement further signals this recalibration.