While India and the United States are working to improve their relations, US President Donald Trump said that he would like to visit the country soon.
Speaking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the 2026 G7 summit in France, the US President said that he “will go to India at some point in the future”, but did not specify a date or year, HT reported earlier.
If the White House announces a visit to India, it will be Trump’s first since the start of his second term in 2025. His last visit to India was in 2020, where he was welcomed with “Namaste Trump” banners across the country.
Despite the tensions in relations between New Delhi and Washington, Trump downplayed their importance and said that as long as he was president, India “will have a great friend in the White House.”
Trump’s quadripartite snub
In August 2025, President Trump was scheduled to visit India to attend the Quad summit in New Delhi. However, the 50 per cent tariff rate announced by Trump on India has raised tensions between the two countries.
Moreover, India and Pakistan engaged in a military conflict in May, which, according to Trump, did not escalate into an all-out war.
While Pakistan publicly praised Trump for his role in brokering a ceasefire with India, New Delhi maintained that there was no third-party interference.
India’s statement and Prime Minister Modi’s stance on Washington’s role in the ceasefire reportedly angered Trump, following which his visit to the Quad summit was cancelled.
In a 2025 New York Times report titled “The Nobel Prize and a Difficult Phone Call: How the Trump-Modi Relationship Unraveled,” Trump canceled his plans to visit India due to a series of factors.
But what was most striking was Operation Sindoor and the ceasefire with Pakistan, all of which were part of the US President’s quest for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Thus, instead of Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was sent to Delhi to attend the summit with Japan and Australia.
What is the cause of tension in India-US relations?
The list begins with the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, where Trump claimed to be responsible for the ceasefire.
With no comment or acknowledgment from the Center on this statement, relations took another hit after the US President announced a Liberation Day exercise in April 2025, in which he imposed a 25 per cent tax on India, calling it the “Tariff Maharaja”.
Later, an additional 25% tariff was imposed on India for purchasing Russian oil and New Delhi was accused of “fueling Putin’s war in Ukraine.”
Total tariffs on India rose to 50 per cent, making the country among those awarded the highest duties, along with Brazil and China.
India’s bloc with Brazil and China – BRICS – also played a factor in strained relations.
Moving to 2026, India and the United States announced in February that they had reached an interim framework for bilateral trade, which, according to the fact sheets, would reduce India’s tariff rate from 50 percent to 18 percent.
Then the Iran war started, and many ships and vessels carrying Indian crew and sailors were targeted in the Strait of Hormuz.
Last week, three Indians were killed after the Palau-flagged area of MT Setibelo was attacked by a US aircraft off the coast of Oman.
Following the two tragic deaths, the State Department summoned US Chargé d’Affairs Jason Meeks twice and lodged a strong protest.
While the matter was also raised during a phone call with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and Marco Rubio, Prime Minister Modi raised the matter related to the safety of Indian seafarers with Trump.
