US defense team set to visit India amid Trump tariffs

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) - A US defense policy team is set to visit India, an official in New Delhi said Thursday amid tensions between the two strategic partners over tariffs by President Donald Trump.

“The India-US defense partnership, underpinned by foundational defense agreements, is an important pillar of the bilateral partnership,” Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told a news conference.

“This robust cooperation has strengthened across all domains. We are expecting a US defense policy team to be in Delhi in mid-August,” he said.

Ties between New Delhi and Washington have been strained in recent months as the two sides have failed to reach a trade deal.

The visit by the US team comes amid reports India delayed defense procurement from Washington, a claim denied by New Delhi.

Trump later imposed 50% tariffs on Indian imports, accusing New Delhi of trade barriers as well as benefiting from Russian oil purchases. New Delhi has called the tariffs “unjust.”

Replying to a question on use of alternative currencies in world trade, Jaiswal said de-dollarization is not a part of India’s financial agenda.

Meanwhile, reacting to a decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) over a water dispute between India and Pakistan, the spokesman said New Delhi has “never accepted the legality, legitimacy, or competence” of the Hague-based court.

The PCA had ruled India must “let flow” the waters of the western rivers for Pakistan’s “unrestricted use.”

“Its pronouncements are therefore without jurisdiction, devoid of legal standing, and have no bearing on India’s rights of utilization of waters,” said Jaiswal.

He added that “the Indus Waters Treaty stands in abeyance by a sovereign decision of the government of India, taken in response to Pakistan’s continued sponsorship of cross-border terrorism, including the barbaric Pahalgam attack.”

Islamabad denies any role in the April 22 attack which left 26 people dead. Later, the two South Asian neighbors engaged in four days of cross-border clashes, which ended in a US-mediated ceasefire which remains in place. India, however, denies any mediatory role.

The nuclear-armed neighbors have for long argued over hydroelectric projects on the shared Indus river and its tributaries. Pakistan says India’s planned hydropower dams will cut flows on the river, which feeds 80% of its irrigated agriculture.