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United States Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove issued a sharp warning over the current trajectory of India-US relations, questioning whether US President Donald Trump risks becoming "the president who lost India" amid escalating tensions over tariffs, visa fees and political grievances. Her remarks were made during a congressional hearing on the US-India Strategic Partnership.
Building on this concern, Kamlager-Dove underscored India's central role in sectors vital to the United States, including defence, energy, AI, space and advanced technologies. "The US relationship with India will be defining for both countries in how we place ourselves in the 21st-century world order," she said. She added that working through the Quad "helps maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific." She then linked these strategic priorities to what she described as a sharp decline in goodwill. Kamlager-Dove argued that President Trump inherited a partnership marked by an energised Quad, growing defence-technology cooperation, coordinated supply-chain efforts and strong political momentum, but has since weakened it. "Flush, flush, flush -- flushed down the toilet," she said, framing the shift as driven by personal grievances rather than national interests. Her warning deepened as she said Trump risks becoming the president who "lost India" or pushed India away, even while signalling openness toward Russia. She accused him of eroding trust through trade policies and what she characterised as a preoccupation with winning a Nobel Peace Prize. She pointed to tariffs and visa measures as the clearest sources of strain. Kamlager-Dove noted that a 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods and a 25 per cent tariff on India-linked Russian oil imports have stalled high-level engagement, contributing to the postponement of the Quad Leaders Summit. She also criticised the administration's new USD 100,000 fee on H-1B visas, observing that Indians hold 70 per cent of these visas and saying the change directly harms workers who have long supported US innovation across technology, science and medicine. Connecting these policy actions to wider regional implications, Kamlager-Dove said they are fuelling uncertainty across Asia. She argued that tariff escalations and cancelled summits have sent troubling signals at a moment when China is closely watching regional dynamics. She added that the approach amounts to cutting off one's nose to spite one's face, causing "real and lasting damage" to trust between Washington and New Delhi. (ANI)
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