Tharoor says India–US ties steady despite Trump tariffs, H-1B visa fee hike

Despite the current setbacks in bilateral ties due to the H-1B visa fee hike to USD 100,000 and imposition of 50 per cent tariffs on India by President Trump, the ties between India and the US have not reached a point of no return and the long term interests of both the countries will keep both of them "on an even keel", said Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday (September 23). He also said that both countries are still cooperating at various administrative levels.

India, US still share "real fundamentals

Speaking to ANI during an interview, Tharoor, a former diplomat, also said that apart from cooperation in defence, artificial intelligence, information technology, space and other sectors, India and the US still share "real fundamentals" as a large number of Indian origin population from students to CEO’s in Silicon Valley residing in the US.

"No, I would not say it is a point of no return. Because I do believe the longer term interest of both countries will eventually bring us back on even keel. It is certainly a very sharp setback in the short term. It is costing us. It is costing jobs in India, losses in India. For India it is undoubtedly bad news this year. But look at the larger picture," said Tharoor.

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‘US not ready to write off India’

The former diplomat also said that the cooperation between the countries across sectors is still continuing at various levels of the government. Tharoor said that regardless of what President Trump does, currently, there is no reason to imagine that the US is prepared to write off India.

"Is America, whatever Mr Trump does, prepared to write off India altogether? At the moment, there is no reason to imagine that. There is a lot of cooperation taking place in defence, on intelligence sharing, a number of areas of cooperation, everything ranging from outer space to IT and AI and so on, at various levels, well below the level of the heads of government. I don't see that suddenly halting; no one has told anybody in America to stop doing that. Those are of great interest to both countries," the Congress leader said.

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Over 4 million Americans are of Indian descent

Tharoor pointed out that over 4 million Americans are of Indian descent, and Indians also comprise the largest single student group of international students in the country, adding that the largest number of CEOs who are not American by birth are also Indians.

According to the US Census Bureau and American Community Survey (ACS) estimates of 2023, around 5.9 million people in the US identify as Indian, either alone or along with other ethnic and racial groups, with Indians now comprising more than 21 per cent of the Asian population in the country. Chinese-origin people are the second-largest group in the country, according to the estimates, reported ANI.

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Tharoor on tariffs, Navarro

As for Trump’s decision to impose 25 per cent extra tariffs on India as a penalty for New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil, Tharoor asked why there was a need to disrupt a three-decade-long partnership.

"The unfairness of this has definitely created a very strong backlash in India, and the accompanying insults, both by Mr Trump's own language in his statements and tweets and subsequently the extremely offensive statements by his advisor, Mr Navarro, have certainly got a backlash in New Delhi and across the country,” said Tharoor.

“Frankly, if there is no particular problem in a relationship which for thirty years has been heading towards greater closeness and greater warmth, why would you suddenly use this kind of language about India, it is not at all appreciated," he added.