- Jeffrey Sachs warned India against trusting the US to protect its interests
- US President Trump imposed 50% tariffs on India, including on Russian oil imports
- Sachs called Trump economically illiterate and a protectionist leader
Cautioning India about its economic partnership with the United States, renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs has told NDTV that Washington could not be trusted to protect New Delhi's interests. He called US President Donald Trump ''economically illiterate'' and said he would never let India emerge economically on the global stage.
The United States "does not act responsibly towards other countries. Be careful. India should not allow itself to be used by the US, somehow, in the US's misguided trade war with China," he said.
Sachs's remarks come at a time when US President Donald Trump has imposed a whopping 50 per cent sanctions and tariffs on India, which includes a 25 per cent penalty for continuing to import Russian oil. The move, which has shocked observers of the India-US relationship, is, according to the economist, a clear reason for New Delhi to remain wary of Washington.
''Don't rely on them. India needs a diversified base of partners - Russia, China, ASEAN countries, Africa, and not see itself as mainly focusing on the US market, which is going to be unstable, slow-growing and basically protectionist," he said.
Significantly, Sachs believes Donald Trump is ''economically illiterate'' and at heart a protectionist who would never allow India to economically emerge on the world stage in quite the same manner as China. This was evident in Trump's dictate to Apple CEO Tim Cook to build in the United States as opposed to expanding manufacturing of iPhones in India.
''India, according to some people, was going to become the replacement for China - the US would fight China, and it would welcome India to replace the Chinese supply chains. I said that I regarded that as unrealistic. The US would not allow a major expansion of exports from India any more than it would allow them from China today. I think these events should give pause to Indian officials," he said.
In May this year, the US President had said, "Tim Cook said he is going to India to build plants, and I said it is okay to go to India, but you are not going to sell it here without tariffs."
On India's continued import of Russian oil to meet its massive energy requirements, Sachs noted that Trump cannot decide who trades with whom.
"The unilateral US measures are illegal under international law. That may sound a little quaint these days, but we actually have rules. We have international law... I don't think what Trump's doing is legal from the point of view of American law, nor do I think it's legal from the point of view of international law. Nor should the US tell India with whom to trade, nor is the whole premise correct that the US has the right to punish Russia and its partners because of the war in Ukraine.''
While there is no clarity on whether India and the United States will be able to clinch a trade deal that was being negotiated, New Delhi appears to be taking a pragmatic view on the overall relationship with the United States. While having stated that the government will always defend India's core interests, New Delhi struck a more conciliatory tone on Thursday.
''India and the United States share a comprehensive global strategic partnership anchored in shared interests, democratic values, and robust people-to-people ties,'' said the External Affairs Ministry. ''This partnership has weathered several transitions and challenges. We remain focused on the substantive agenda that our two countries have committed to, and we hope that the relationship will continue to move forward based on mutual respect and shared interests.''
