Former US Ambassador to the United Nations and Indian-American Republican leader Nikki Haley has warned against damaging the US relationship with India, calling India a "strong ally" that should not be side-lined especially in contrast to how China is being treated by the US.

Haley criticised President Donald Trump’s recent threats to raise tariffs on India "very substantially" due to India's continued purchase of Russian oil, which Trump claimed was "fuelling the war machine." 

Haley voiced her opposition to penalising India while the US has granted China, which she called a US adversary and the largest buyer of Russian and Iranian oil, a 90-day tariff pause. She emphasised that the US should not "give China a pass and burn a relationship with a strong ally like India" in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Haley, who was the US Ambassador to the UN under Trump, highlighted this double standard in US trade policy as unfair and potentially harmful to important strategic relations. Her comments followed after Trump singled out India as not being a "good trading partner," announcing immediate plans to dramatically increase tariffs on Indian goods in response to its energy ties with Russia.

India responded strongly to this, calling the US and EU accusations "unjustified and unreasonable," defending its procurement of discounted Russian crude as necessary for energy security and economic reasons amid global disruptions due to the Ukraine conflict.

The Indian government highlighted that Western countries, including the US and EU, have maintained their own trade ties with Russia despite public disapproval of others continuing to do so.

Additionally, in an interview with CNBC, Trump indicated he has a very good relationship with China and might meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping before the end of the year if a trade deal can be made.

Trump acknowledged China's economic reliance on the US and expressed optimism about concluding a deal but dismissed India’s offer to reduce tariffs to zero as insufficient given India’s continuing oil trade with Russia.

Nikki Haley’s stance underscores a call for a consistent and fair US policy that protects and values the strategic partnership with India without appearing to unduly favour China, especially concerning responses related to Russian oil purchases and associated trade tariffs.

This comes amid heightened US-India tensions following Trump's tariff threat and India's objections to such pressure amid the ongoing geopolitical and energy challenges stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Based On A PTI Report