On first official India trip, Rubio tries to tackle a trust deficit between Washington and Delhi
Rubio’s visit comes at a time when economic and diplomatic tensions between the United States and India are tense, largely due to US President Donald Trump’s increased tariffs on many Indian exports.
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After the first round of talks on Sunday, Rubio and Jaishankar spoke at a joint news conference where they reiterated their goal of deepening the US-India strategic partnership while pursuing their respective national interests.
Rubio arrived on Saturday on his first official visit to India ahead of a meeting scheduled for Tuesday with counterparts from India, Australia and Japan, members of the Indo-Pacific strategic alliance known as the Quad.
Rubio stated that India is one of the United States’ most important strategic partners in the world and expressed optimism that the bilateral trade agreement will be concluded soon. “I do not see our relationship with any country in the world as damaging our strategic alliance with India,” he said.
He said the trade issue is not about New Delhi. “There’s almost no country in the world that I could travel to that wouldn’t bring up the issue of trade because we did it from a global perspective.” Jaishankar said the US-India strategic partnership exists due to “convergence of national interests” in many areas.
“The Trump administration has been very forthright in presenting its foreign policy perspective as America first. … We have an India first mindset. So we are both clearly acting in our own national interests,” he said.
The four-day visit will include a multi-city tour and a gala reception in New Delhi celebrating the 250th anniversary of US independence.
India and the US have different priorities but common concerns
“Over the past year, statements and rhetoric from Washington on India’s most sensitive security concerns and trade issues have not been helpful and have created a trust deficit,” said Ashok Malik, former policy advisor at India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
“Some doubts will remain,” Malik added, noting that Rubio’s visit would be considered a success if the talks somehow stabilize the relationship and control further deterioration.
Experts say friction exists between the US’s global strategic goals and India’s priorities as a rising middle power. India, historically close to Russia, has long shown uneasiness as it draws closer to the United States; This reflects India’s continuing distrust of American intentions, stemming from cultural differences and Cold War-era instincts.
Nevertheless, India-US ties have steadily deepened over two decades into a broad and robust strategic partnership; in recent years it has increasingly been shaped by shared concerns about China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific and has been expressed diplomatically through the Quad forum.
The Quartet has repeatedly accused China of building up its military forces in the South China Sea and aggressively pushing its territorial claims in the sea. Beijing maintains that its military is purely defensive to protect China’s sovereign rights and describes the Quad as an attempt to contain economic growth and influence.
Rubio’s first official international engagement following the inauguration of the US presidency in January 2025 was to meet with the foreign ministers of the Quad countries in joint and separate sessions.
However, a series of events since last year have brought diplomatic relations to a low point.
Pakistani and Russian oil causes tension
Despite close ties and a frequent perception as an ideological ally, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has downplayed Trump’s role in brokering a ceasefire following a brief India-Pakistan military conflict triggered by the massacre of mostly Hindu tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir in April 2025. But Pakistan openly courted Trump and even advocated for the Nobel Peace Prize for him.
Also read: Critical minerals, AI and nuclear ties come to the fore as Jaishankar, Rubio examine India-US partnership
Economic tensions followed; The Trump administration further strained ties between the two countries by imposing tariffs on India due to discounted Russian oil purchases.
“There is some skepticism in India about US policy and its predictability,” said Malik, who runs the India division of The Asia Group’s US consultancy firm. He said what happened between India and the US last year “cannot be easily forgotten or erased”.
When the Iran war broke out in February, the United States stepped up relations with Pakistan, which positioned itself as a mediator between Washington and Tehran, deepening unease in New Delhi. Trump’s recent high-profile visit to China has further added to India’s discomfort.
Praveen Donthi, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, said India-US relations “are challenging due to several structural tensions, and Trump is only highlighting them.”
“New Delhi’s foreign policy, increasingly colored by its domestic politics, has become more black-and-white over the past decade, as evidenced by its deep discomfort with US ties with Pakistan and moves towards détente with China,” Donthi said. he said.
Experts say these changes reflect the increasing complexity of India-US relations, which are based on shared strategic interests but are increasingly shaped by competing priorities and a changing geopolitical landscape.
“New Delhi will probably exercise strategic patience and wait for Trump to leave office,” Donthi said. “India hopes that the bipartisan consensus on India in the United States will continue during his term and that we can begin to rebuild on top of that.”
