- India is regarded as a vital strategic partner by the US, unlike Pakistan, said US lawmaker Ami Bera
- He introduced a bipartisan US Congress resolution that supports strengthening India-US ties
- The resolution highlights cooperation in defense, trade, tech, and counterterrorism
The United States does not see the equivalence between India and Pakistan and regards New Delhi as a 'vital strategic partner', said Ami Bera, the longest-serving Indian American Member of Congress. Bera, a Democrat, along with Republican lawmaker Joe Wilson, has introduced a bipartisan resolution in the US Congress, recognising the strategic value of the historical partnership between New Delhi and Washington.
The resolution comes amid strained India-US ties as Washington imposed hefty 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods. The President Donald Trump administration imposed reciprocal tariffs of 25 per cent on Indian goods as part of a broad strategy to address trade imbalances and boost domestic industries, while an additional 25 per cent was levied due to India's import of Russian oil.
Talking to NDTV, Bera acknowledged that the Trump administration's tariff policy and immigration crackdown were putting a strain on India-US ties but stressed that despite "some bumps", US strategy has been the "same for three decades to strengthen the relationship".
"Some of the statements that President Trump had made, the 50 per cent tariffs, the $100,000 fee on H-1B visas – all of these were putting a strain on things... I felt it was necessary for Congress, in a bipartisan way, to express strong support for the US-India relationship," the Democrat lawmaker said, explaining the need for his resolution.
"Even if there are some bumps in the road right now, our strategy has been the same for three decades: to strengthen the relationship. I think it's important for this to be a bipartisan resolution, Democrats and Republicans speaking with one voice," he added.
Bera's resolution focuses on deepening cooperation between India and the US, two of the world's largest democracies, across critical sectors, including defence, technology, trade, counterterrorism, and education.
He said he has close to 30 co-signers at this moment, divided equally between the party lines.
"I think it's important for us to speak with one voice. The resolution highlights the long-term nature, going back three decades to President [Bill] Clinton, to [Barack] Obama, to [George W] Bush, [Joe] Biden, and Trump, that really has said this [India-US] is a critical relationship... We want to keep it moving in the right direction," he said.
The US lawmaker also slammed Trump's advisers, especially Peter Navarro, for giving 'bad advice' to the President against the Indian-American community. But he stressed that Trump has changed his stance on some MAGA (Make America Great Again) narratives, including the H-1B visa issue.
"I think this is an area where President Trump is getting bad advice from folks like Peter Navarro and others, maybe Stephen Miller. If you've been watching US television, you saw the president talk about the importance of having high-skilled workers from around the world being able to come to the United States, especially to fill jobs when foreign companies are making those investments in the United States. "I actually think the president probably does get the need for high-skilled labour for doctors and others," Bera said.
He also acknowledged that the Indian domestic market is growing very rapidly, and President Trump's H-1B policy would hurt the US more than India, as corporates can easily move to the Asian nation to hire the talent.
When asked about growing ties between the US and Pakistan under the Trump administration, Bera said the President probably "has some advisers who are not coaching him correctly."
"Part of the reason for this resolution is that we've spent three decades separating India and Pakistan. We see India as a vital strategic partnership. You see US companies making multibillion-dollar investments in India and Indian companies doing the same in the United States. You see the strategic defence relationship with India. From a congressional perspective, none of that is going to change. And again, that was part of what's driving us to do this resolution," he said, adding that "India is a vital strategic partner" for the US.
"You don't see that same dialogue with Pakistan. So the relationship is not the same. You don't see US companies making billion-dollar investments in Pakistan. We won't be doing joint naval exercises anytime soon with Pakistan."
