Former US NSA Jake Sullivan has denounced President Donald Trump's sharp tariff policy against India, stating that they have sullied America's reputation worldwide.
Sullivan, a former National Security Adviser (NSA) to President Joe Biden, warned that such policies would make China look "more responsible" in the global arena compared to America.
"China has moved ahead of the United States in popularity in a whole lot of countries, and that was not the case one year ago, where countries now are basically, you know, saying the US brand is in the toilet and China is looking like a more responsible player," Sullivan told Tim Miller on The Bulwark podcast.
Trump recently raised tariffs to 50% for Indian imports due to what he called unfair trade and India's continued imports of Russian crude oil. But reports indicate the decision was less about trade balance and more of an apparent response to New Delhi spurning Trump's assertion that he could mediate its recent border confrontation with Pakistan.
Sullivan, who was also Director of Policy during Obama's administration, cautioned against the possible outcome of such actions. As per him, such hawkish trade measures would ultimately drive India towards Beijing, which would put a strain on Washington's strategic partnership with New Delhi.
"We were working to try to build a deeper, sustainable relationship with India, and the China challenge loomed large in that. President Trump executed a massive trade offensive against them, and the Indians are saying, I guess maybe we have to go show up in Beijing and sit with the Chinese because we've got a hedge against America," he said.
He went on to say that Trump's strategy has gone on to make U.S. allies progressively perceive Washington as a "big disruptor" that cannot be relied upon fully. It was this perception, Sullivan stated, that has set the world talking about "derisking" from America. He cited India's improving relations with China as a good example. New Delhi and Beijing's relations have witnessed some improvement in recent months—the first such change since the violent clashes at Galwan in 2020—with China looking for enhanced cooperation in the background of Trump's tariffs.
Sullivan is not the only one to have criticized Trump. Increasing numbers of influential U.S. government and policy leaders have criticized Trump's tariff policy.
Former President Barack Obama's Secretary of State John Kerry recently denounced the strategy, saying, "Great nations don't necessarily exhibit greatness by giving people ultimatums all the time without sort of a genuine diplomatic effort."
Earlier this month, Trump's former advisor John Bolton also attacked the tariff increases, calling them undercutting decades of U.S. diplomacy to reduce India's reliance on Russia and China. In an interview with CNN, Bolton pointed out the irony that the additional 25% tariff intended to hobble Moscow may, in fact, push New Delhi toward both Moscow and Beijing, potentially encouraging them to cooperate against Washington.
Other experts have also sounded out these alarms. U.S. foreign policy analyst Christopher Padilla cautioned that the tariffs have the potential to invite skepticism regarding America's dependability. Meanwhile, economist Jeffrey Sachs was more dramatic, calling Trump's retaliatory tariff move against India "the stupidest tactical move in US foreign policy."
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