US- India: Frenemies?

In a global economy, trade, and other financial relationships between any two countries are an important measure of their interdependence. The more trade two countries carry out with each other, the more thickened their relationship gets. It also has a larger impact on their other trade partners. In December 2021, the United States of America was India’s top trade partner. Followed by China. According to the office of United States Trade Representative (USTR), US goods and services trade with India totaled an estimated $146.1 billion in 2019; exports were $58.6 billion, and imports were $87.4 billion- making India its 9^th largest trade partner.  The Russian- Ukraine conflict has resulted in an increase in international oil and grain prices. India, largely being an importer of oil, has had to seek the former for comparatively cheap prices. Russia has fulfilled this requirement and therefore India is obliged to maintain her long-standing neutral stance. This has strained India’s relationship with the US, which has been pushing for a unified economic action against Russia. In view of long-standing Indo- US ties and the need to counterbalance China, steps have been taken by both the governments to restore confidence in economic, diplomatic and defiance ties between the two countries. This has resulted in recent interactions between Prime Minister Modi and President Biden, and visits of the Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM), Defence Minister (DM) and Finance Minister (FM) to the US; all in the month of April. Despite the temporary strain there is a widespread consensus in India and the US that shared democratic values, increasing intensity of trade and increased cooperation over the years will result in convergence between the two countries in the years ahead. It is clear that if India does not find a way to address its energy requirements, in the long run, its relationship with the US would come under strain every time oil and gas becomes expensive.