INFLUENTIAL AMBASSADOR
US Ambassador Gor, dubbed “the India whisperer” by Michael Kugelman of the Atlantic Council think tank, arrived in New Delhi in January and has sought to reset ties. Gor is a friend of Trump’s and previously a White House adviser.
In February, the two countries reached a “framework for an interim agreement” on trade to lower Trump’s tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from a punishing 50 per cent, half of which had been linked to India’s prior purchases of Russian oil.
But talks to finalise the deal slowed after the US Supreme Court in late February struck down Trump’s tariffs.
That effectively brought the duty rate on Indian goods down to 10 per cent, but New Delhi has been weighing its options as the Trump administration pursues investigations under unfair trade practices legislation widely expected to restore much of the prior levies.
New Delhi has pressed for a Trump visit to India, tied to a summit of the Quad group of countries, which groups the US, India, Japan and Australia. But analysts say that has not happened amid trade tensions and distractions, including the US-Israeli war on Iran.
“I do not expect Secretary Rubio will have much impact in changing the downward trajectory,” Richard Rossow of the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said.
“The lack of a trade agreement – more than three months after the announcement of the ‘interim deal’ – clouds other areas of engagement.”
Rubio will attend a Quad meeting in India next week – the third such gathering without a leader-level engagement and effectively an “unannounced downgrade” of the grouping, Rossow said.
On Saturday, Rubio “shared his appreciation for India hosting the upcoming Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting,” his office said in a statement, which did not refer to India’s entreaties for Trump to take part.