US should charge zero pc tariff on India and apologise: Senior US analyst

NEW YORK: US President Donald Trump is facing severe criticism at home for imposing ‘irrational’ tariffs on India, with some experts advising him to reduce them to zero and apologise.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Edward Price, adjunct professor at New York University, said India has a “deciding” vote in shaping the 21st century and described Washington’s relationship with India as “crucial”, expressing even greater astonishment at Trump’s decision.  

“I consider the partnership between India and the US as the most crucial 21st-century partnership. This partnership will decide what happens between China and Russia. India has the deciding vote in the 21st century India is a significant player in the 21st century and is poised to become even more powerful. I can’t for the life of me understand why the President of the US, in confrontation with China and in a war with Russia, would impose 50% tariffs on India. We need to remove the 50% tariff on India and get it down to something far more reasonable – I suggest zero per cent – and apologise,” he told ANI.

Price then praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him “pretty smart” for reminding the US that India has other options, while stopping short of fully embracing the Russia–China alliance or attending Beijing’s military parade.  

“PM Modi is being pretty smart. He is reminding the Americans, he’s reminding people like me that he has options, but he’s not fully embraced China and Russia and is not attending the military parade, for example,” Price said.

He also argued that India will never fall under Chinese influence, given its sovereign, independent-minded stance. “There is no Moscow sphere of influence, and that’s Putin’s entire problem. He is trying to rebuild the old Soviet empire. So, there is no Moscow sphere of influence. There is a Chinese sphere of influence that Russia is part of right now. If you’re asking whether India, under Modi, is willingly becoming a part of that sphere of influence – effectively the Chinese sphere of influence – no. Let’s remember India is an independently minded sovereign with its own civilisation. It makes its own choicesThere’s no way that India is going to permanently place its feet on one side or the other of a line, especially not when it looks at what’s happened to Russia, which is essentially a form of economic conquest by China,” he said.

Speaking about former US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s allegations that Trump is sacrificing Washington’s ties with India to further his family’s business interests in Pakistan, Price noted that Trump does have active financial interests, but added that it is “impossible” to comment for certain.  

“It does seem that the President of the United States has active financial interests, and this is a departure from what’s always traditionally been the case, which is that presidents are not supposed to have active financial interests. I’m afraid to say we will never know – it’s almost impossible to get to the bottom of what exactly those interests are,” he said.

The assessment highlights growing concerns among foreign-policy experts about the potential long-term consequences of current US–India trade tensions on broader strategic cooperation between the world’s two largest democracies. 

By RSS/ANI