Washington

United States Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove has issued a strong warning about the deteriorating state of India–US relations, cautioning that President Donald Trump risks going down in history as “the president who lost India” amid escalating disputes over tariffs, visa fees and political friction.

Her remarks came during a congressional hearing on the US-India Strategic Partnership, where she questioned whether Washington’s recent policies were undermining decades of bipartisan progress.

Kamlager-Dove highlighted India’s critical role in sectors central to American strategic interests — including defence, energy, AI, space and advanced technologies.

“The US relationship with India will be defining for both countries in how we place ourselves in the 21st-century world order,” she said, adding that forums like the Quad are essential to maintaining “a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

She argued that the goodwill built over recent years has sharply eroded. According to her, President Trump inherited a partnership characterised by an energised Quad, strengthening defence-technology cooperation and coordinated supply-chain efforts — only to weaken it since taking office.

“Flush, flush, flush — flushed down the toilet,” she said, alleging the decline stems from personal grievances rather than national interest.

Kamlager-Dove warned that Trump risks being remembered as the leader who “lost India” while simultaneously signalling openness toward Russia. She accused him of damaging trust through trade actions and what she described as a fixation with securing a Nobel Peace Prize.

She cited tariff measures as a major flashpoint, pointing to a 50% tariff on Indian goods and a 25% tariff on India-linked Russian oil imports — decisions she said have stalled top-level engagement and contributed to the postponement of the Quad Leaders Summit.

The Congresswoman also criticised the administration’s new USD 100,000 fee on H-1B visas, stressing that Indians hold 70% of these visas and that the surcharge directly harms workers who have long driven innovation in US technology, science and medicine.

She warned that these policies are reverberating across Asia, feeding uncertainty at a critical geopolitical moment.

Kamlager-Dove said tariff escalations, visa penalties and cancelled summits have sent troubling signals just as China monitors regional shifts closely.

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She concluded that Washington’s current approach is self-defeating, amounting to “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face,” and causing “real and lasting damage” to trust between the two democracies.