How will Donald Trump presidency impact India-US ties, former aide explains
Lisa Curtis said PM Narendra Modi’s speech to 50,000 Americans in Houston and Trump’s address to 100,000 Indians in Ahmedabad helped cement US-India relations.
US President-elect Donald Trump, who shares a strong relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to build on the progress made during his first term and continue strengthening ties with India, according to his South Asia point-person at the White House.
In an interview with PTI, Lisa Curtis, who has served as deputy assistant to Trump and National Security Council senior director for South and Central Asia from 2017 to 2021, also mentioned that she anticipated similar challenges for India and the US as in Trump’s first term, including issues related to tariffs, reliance on Russia for arms supply, and oil purchases from Iran.
“I think that President (elect) Trump will pick up where he left off with India. He clearly has good feelings, goodwill toward India, and I really see this as an opportunity to just continue building the relationship and really solidifying that partnership,” Curtis said.
During Trump's first term (2017-2021), there was a significant “elevation of the US-India relationship,” driven by India's growing importance and its role in addressing challenges from China, Lisa Curtis said.
She highlighted the strong mutual respect and personal bond between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi.
“We could see that during the event when Prime Minister Modi addressed 50,000 Americans at the Astrodome in Houston. We saw that when President Trump addressed 100,000 Indians in a stadium in Ahmedabad. That relationship really helped cement a lot of the progress that was made,” said Curtis, who is currently a Senior Fellow and Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at Center for a New American Security, a think-tank.
“Technology controls were lifted on India. India gained access to armed drone technology. Now it's buying 31 Sea Guardian predators. We saw the building up of not only the defence and security relationship, but also confidence and trust,” she said, adding that the Quad was started during that period.
Bumps during Trump's 1st term
However, Curtis added that there were a few bumps along the way during Trump's first term.
“There were a couple of bumps in the road, and this was mainly when President Trump would tweet about the Indian tariffs. He really wanted American companies to have more access to the Indian market. He would often, before a meeting, tweet out something. It was almost a negotiating tactic, I think, that he was doing. He did this with many countries. That did cause some irritation in the relationship. But I don't think these tweeting incidents about Indian tariffs overwhelmed the broader relationship,” she said.
“We could probably expect similar things to happen in the future as well. But I think everybody's more prepared for Trump's style and his negotiation style. His very transactional approach, trying to get a good deal for the American people,” she added.
Responding to a question, Curtis said the priority this time needs to be on the security partnership between the two countries. She added, “This is an area where the interests of both sides converge. Both the United States and India have a lot of concerns when it comes to China, such as its attempts to dominate the technology market and efforts to be the hegemon in Asia. Neither India, nor the United States want that to happen. So, they have a deep mutual interest in cooperating.”