Richard N. Haass, Bush-Era Architect Of India–US Ties, Warns: 'We Are Alienating New Delhi'

Last Updated:September 04, 2025, 15:59 IST

Richard N. Haass warns US against policies that may push India closer to Beijing after SCO summit.

Richard N. Haass played a central role in shaping US policy toward South Asia during the Bush years.

Richard N. Haass, former Director of Policy Planning in the George W. Bush administration and widely regarded as an architect of the modern India–US strategic partnership, cautioned Washington against policies that risk pushing New Delhi closer to Beijing.

Speaking to MSNBC, Richard N. Haass said, “We alienate India. So India shows up at SCO. But one of the building blocks of our foreign policy was to bring India closer to us to put pressure on China. We have put tariffs against many of our allies. We have introduced great uncertainty on whether we are actually there for our allies or not."

Richard N. Haass, who played a central role in shaping US policy toward South Asia during the Bush years, has long emphasized the strategic rationale for drawing India closer to Washington. The Bush administration’s outreach laid the foundation for the landmark civil nuclear deal and deepened defense cooperation, moves explicitly aimed at balancing China’s rise.

His remarks came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin last week. Hosted by Xi Jinping, the SCO’s largest gathering to date brought together leaders from 10 member states and 20 invited countries, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. In his opening speech, Xi Jinping called on the bloc to “safeguard regional peace and stability" and “pool the strength of the Global South."

Donald Trump’s Tariff Offensive

The Donald Trump administration imposed sweeping duties on Indian exports, including a 25% reciprocal tariff on goods and an additional 25% levy tied to New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil- raising the effective rate to 50%, among the highest in the world.

Donald Trump has accused India of “fueling Russia’s deadly attacks on Ukraine" by buying discounted crude, even while Washington stopped short of harsher sanctions on Moscow. On his Truth Social platform this week, Donald Trump claimed India had belatedly offered to reduce tariffs on US goods to zero but dismissed the overture as “too late." He called the trade relationship a “one-sided disaster," writing, “They sell us massive amounts of goods, their biggest client, but we sell them very little… it has been a totally one-sided relationship for many decades."

Location :

Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published:

September 04, 2025, 15:59 IST

News world Richard N. Haass, Bush-Era Architect Of India–US Ties, Warns: 'We Are Alienating New Delhi'

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