“Bharat will never compromise on the interests of its farmers, livestock rearers and fisherman and I am fully aware that I may have to pay a very heavy price personally but I am prepared for it. For the farmers of my country, for the livestock rearer’ s of my country, Bharat stands ready today.”
Those words of Prime Minister Modi, from his address to the MS Swaminathan Centenary Conference in Delhi this morning, went viral on social media after being re-tweeted by many ministers including Piyush Goyal and Amit Shah.
Not for the first time, it underscored India’s red lines in these trade negotiations with the US: no opening up the agriculture sector or dairy where the livelihoods of millions are at stake.
But did India misread the tea leaves with the US? How were things allowed to blow up in this spectacular fashion?
A senior former diplomat recalled that even during the trade negotiations in Trump’s first term, “US officials demanded concessions, were abusive of Indian officials, used pejorative language and withdrew GSP (Generalised System of Preferences that gave tariff concessions to developing countries).”
He also noted meeting US trade officials in Delhi after Trump took over in his second term. “Nothing is straight out there, weird people, young people, call it a kitchen cabinet of family and friends, not empowered to do anything. It was tough dealing with them.”
They were stigmatising India, thinking this is another Iran and linking with Russia. Various articles in the US media painted India as a “free rider” and asked the question, “what has India given us.”
India has been buying oil from Russia for the last three years, why has the US woken up now? The sense is of a frustrated White House getting nowhere with Russia, Europe or China, nothing to show in terms of success, and so lashing out at Brazil and India.”
“In the case of India, Trump has over reached because unlike Brazil or Russia, there will be blow back within the elites in the US,” another former diplomat said. “The strategic elites in the US minus the mad MAGA people are uncomfortable, those who have been silent so far are popping up and warning of disaster.
“Are you actually going to going to alienate India, Congress won’t like it. The Washington Post and New York Times have their guns out for Trump and India has come as a handy stick to beat him with.”
The question they are asking is India is one country they are comfortable with at a time when China and Russia are public enemy number one. So why poke, prod and demonise India?
There can be only one answer: the US remains the biggest export market for the world, no less India, that is power. On the other hand, China imports virtually nothing. That’s also power.
Former diplomats also note that every Indian prime minister who had a problem with the US, sought support from Russia. It seems to be “the classic Indian leadership response,” and suggests a disturbing lack any other leverage.
