Republican Lawmaker Warns Trump: Be 'Careful' With India Tariff Strategy

While speaking at an event at the Hudson Institute on Monday, McCormick said that the Trump administration should keep friends like India “close” to the United States.

“When you talk about India, and I'm the chair of the India caucus, I love India. I think India and the United States... we pair up well into the future of the largest democracy, the wealthiest and oldest democracy, pairing together, it could bring us together for another generation of peace that the world's never seen, where you can have prosperity and wealth development,” he added.

He also advised the Trump administration on its tariff policy against India, stressing that they should be “careful.”

“India was, on average, charging about 15 per cent tariffs with barriers, us about 2 per cent with no barriers. That's something that President Trump did very well, but we have to be careful,” he noted.

McCormick also praised India’s space programme and its achievement of becoming the first country in the world to successfully land a spacecraft near the dark side of the moon in 2023.

“A country that does things very well puts a spaceship on the dark side of the moon for $74 million. I always joke that we couldn't even develop a building to talk about putting a spaceship on the dark side of the moon for that amount. We could do things so much better if we keep our friends close,” he highlighted.

After a period of prolonged silence, many Republican lawmakers are now publicly defending India-US ties.

At least six bipartisan letters and resolutions have been drafted over the past three weeks defending the interests of the Indian American community, reaffirming support for the India-US partnership, and pressing the administration for accountability over its recent actions targeting New Delhi.

In October, a bipartisan group of six House Representatives wrote to US President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, expressing concerns over the H-1B proclamation.

“We are concerned that the recent proclamation related to H-1B visa petitions will create significant challenges for US employers and overall weaken our competitiveness,” the letter stated.

The group included Democrat Suhas Subramanyam along with Republican Congressmen Jay Obernolte and Don Bacon, among others.

On October 17, four US lawmakers wrote to President Donald Trump, urging him to attend the Quad Leaders’ Summit in India and other meetings in Asia.

The same day, a bipartisan resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives to recognise the “contributions made to the United States by the Indian American diaspora” and condemn recent acts of racism against Indian Americans.

The resolution also termed the India-US relationship as “one of the most important democratic partnerships in the world.”

Leaders from both Democratic and Republican parties have faced criticism for mostly remaining silent as senior officials of the Trump administration, like Trade Advisor Peter Navarro and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, repeatedly targeted India over its purchase of Russian oil and trade imbalance.

In August, the Trump administration imposed 50 per cent tariffs on New Delhi, which included a 25 per cent levy for importing Russian oil.

In recent weeks, ties have stabilised, and negotiators have resumed talks to finalise the first phase of a trade agreement.

- IANS