How much of Modi’s friendship with Trump is ‘face to face’ and how much is ‘work’?

Last Updated on November 11, 2024 6:13 am

Donald Trump often says that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is his friend. Modi also claims that Trump is his friend.

About a month and a half ago, in September, when Narendra Modi went to the United States to attend the Quad Summit at the invitation of President Joe Biden, Trump had announced that he would meet Modi.

At that time, Donald Trump was campaigning.

On September 17, at a town hall in Flint, Michigan, Republican presidential candidate Trump said that Modi is coming to America next week and I will meet him. He is a wonderful man.

Narendra Modi, however, returned to India without meeting Donald Trump at that time.

During the election campaign, Trump mentioned Narendra Modi’s name several times and praised his leadership.

When the election results were very far ahead, the Indian Prime Minister congratulated Trump as a friend and “congratulated him on his victory.”

The ‘friendship’ of these two was evident at the ‘Howdy Modi’ event in Houston in September 2019.

At that event, Trump and Modi addressed about 50,000 Indian-Americans.

There, Modi raised the slogan ‘Abki Baar Trump Sarkar’.

Again in 2020, a ‘Namaste Trump’ event was organized in Ahmedabad, Modi’s home state of Gujarat. Donald Trump was present there.

Trump has called Narendra Modi a friend many times.

Trump’s criticism of India’s policies

Despite calling Narendra Modi a friend, Donald Trump has also strongly criticized various Indian policies.

Trump has repeatedly complained that India imposes taxes on American products, while when they export some products to the United States, they want them to be kept tax-free.

On September 17, Trump said, ‘India is a very problematic country. Brazil is the same. I can tell you all that.’

Earlier, Trump had said at an election rally in July, if you want to manufacture something in China, they expect us to manufacture it here and export it to that country.

Then they will impose a 250 percent tariff on that product. We don’t want that. Even then, they will ask us to build our factories here. Companies here respond to that request and go there.

India did the same thing in the case of Harley Davidson. Harley Davidson could not sell its bikes there due to the 200 percent tariff on bikes.

Trump’s statement on defense relations with India is also clear.

He wants defense agreements with India to increase, but criticizes India on trade relations and immigration.

Trump’s ‘America First’ policy creates a limitation on Modi’s friendship with him.

According to that policy, Trump can impose tariffs on information technology, pharmaceuticals and ready-made garments imported from India to the United States.

Trump has already called India the king of tariffs. Trump wants the US to impose the same taxes on its products as India does.

The US is India’s largest trading partner.

Among India’s major trading partners, the US is the only country with which it does not have a trade deficit. That is, India exports more to the US and imports less from it.

India-US Trade

Bilateral trade between India and the US was over $191 billion in 2022.

But if Trump imposes tariffs on India under the ‘America First’ policy, the situation will change.

Former Indian Foreign Secretary and former Indian Ambassador to Russia Kanwal Sibal was talking about the friendship between Trump and Modi, saying that friendship is related to mutual interests. But when there is a conflict of interests, the extent of friendship is actually understood.

According to him, America talks about free trade only when they are in a favorable position. This is no longer a matter for protectionists. The world’s largest economy, which controls the global financial system through the dollar. How can they demand tariff parity from India? The US’s problem is with China, not India.

Sibal was also explaining that in some cases, Trump’s approach will be favorable to Modi. The friendship between the two will be revealed in those matters.

For example, Trump will not interfere in India’s internal politics, that is, Trump will not say anything about human rights, equality among all religions and democracy, which the Biden administration used to do.

Trump will not say anything about the politics of Hindutva. But Trump will not be able to hold the reins of the institutions controlled by the US Congress!

Trump will not do ‘friendship’ instead of ‘interest’

Military expert Brahma Chellaney believes that Trump will take a different approach on this and focus on China instead of Russia.

If so, that will also go in India’s favor, because with the growing closeness of India and Russia, the Trump administration will not press it like the Biden administration.

Harsh Pant, a former professor of international relations at King’s College London, said that calling someone a friend means taking the relationship to a personal level.

Professor Pant says that if someone calls someone a friend, it does not mean that there will be any concessions on policy issues. Modiji’s diplomacy has its own style that he builds personal connections and sometimes this method also works.

According to Pant, Trump is very clear about his likes and dislikes among world leaders. Narendra Modi is one of his favorite leaders. But that does not mean that Trump will sacrifice his own interests for Narendra Modi.

Trump’s attitude towards India will be tough on trade and immigration. One thing is certain, what is happening in Indian politics does not matter to him.

But if something happens to Christians in India, Trump will be vocal, because he also has to keep an eye on the sentiments of the Christian majority in his country.

India was uncomfortable with Trump’s words on Kashmir

The then Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan visited the US in July 2019.

Imran Khan was received at the White House by the then US President Donald Trump.

At that time, Trump expressed his willingness to mediate on Kashmir.

He also said at that time that Modi also wanted him (Trump) to mediate on Kashmir.

India, however, dismissed Trump’s claim, saying that Prime Minister Modi had not said or requested anything like that to Trump.

Pakistan welcomed Trump’s statement, but it was uncomfortable for India.

India’s official position is that it will not accept any mediation on Kashmir.

As a result, it may not be time to say how much of the friendship between Donald Trump and Narendra Modi will ultimately be limited to formal discussions and how much will be useful in solving real problems.