"US Brand In Toilet": White House Ex-Official Blasts Trump's India Tariffs

A former White House official has ripped into President Donald Trump's hefty tariffs against India and blamed him for damaging the reputation of the American brand. Jake Sullivan, who was the National Security Adviser (NSA) to former President Joe Biden, also warned that such tariffs are making China look "more responsible" than the US.

"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.

"The #American brand globally is in the toilet" : Former US NSA Jake Sullivan pic.twitter.com/YcfvxTmzMz

— IDU (@defencealerts) August 29, 2025

President Trump has raised tariffs to 50% on goods imported from India, blaming what he has called unfair trade practices and New Delhi's refusal to halt the import of Russian crude oil. There have been reports, however, that the tariffs aimed to punish India for denying Trump's claim of mediating in its recent conflict with Pakistan, rather than balancing trade.

Read: US Court Rules Many Of Trump's Global Tariffs Are Illegal

Sullivan, who was the Director of Policy in the Obama administration, underscored the dangers of such tariffs. It risks pushing New Delhi closer to Beijing, he said, highlighting the strains in ties with India.

"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.

The fallout of Trump's moves is that US allies now see Washington as a "big disruptor" that cannot be counted on, according to the former official. Global leaders now feel the need for "derisking" from the United States, he said, citing India as an example that is moving closer to China. The India-China ties have thawed over the past few months, bringing the two countries closer for the first time since the Galwan 2020 clashes, while Beijing seeks deeper cooperation in the backdrop of Trump tariffs.

Read: India, China Can Bring Stability To Economic Order: PM' Modi's Message From Japan

Sullivan is among dozens of high-level officials who have served the US government over the past few years and have been increasingly critical of Trump's tariffs in recent times.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry, who has served under President Barack Obama, last week made a scathing criticism of Trump's policies, observing, "Great nations don't necessarily exhibit greatness by giving people ultimatums all the time without sort of a genuine diplomatic effort."

Trump's former aide John Bolton had also slammed the President earlier this month for jeopardising decades of American efforts to bring India away from Russia and China. In an interview with CNN, he had called it ironic that the secondary 25% tariff, which was intended to hurt Russia, could push India closer to Russia and China, and perhaps even make them negotiate together against the US.

US foreign policy expert Christopher Padilla had also warned that the tariffs could raise questions on America's reliability, while top US economist Jeffrey Sachs had called his punitive tariffs against India "the stupidest tactical move in US foreign policy."