US will not give India same economic advantages it gave China, says Trump official

United States Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau on Thursday said that Washington will not give India the same kind of economic advantages it gave China, which he said allowed Beijing to emerge as a major competitor, Bloomberg reported.

The US wants to work with India to unlock its “limitless potential”, Landau said at the 2026 Raisina Dialogue. However, New Delhi should understand that “we are not going to make the same mistakes with India that we made with China 20 years ago”, he added.

The Raisina Dialogue is an annual conference held in New Delhi. It is organised by the think-tank Observer Research Foundation in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs.

The US deputy secretary of state had on Monday said that he would be in India to advance US President Donald Trump’s America First policy at the Raisina Dialogue.

The “America First” policy refers to the supposed US-centric trade and foreign measures implemented by the Trump administration. The tariffs imposed by Washington in April 2025 on dozens of countries, including India, were part of these measures.

The levies were eventually reduced once bilateral trade deals had been agreed to with different countries.

With regard to India, the tariffs imposed under Trump’s America First policy were reduced after an interim bilateral trade deal was agreed to on February 2.

Under the framework, US tariffs on Indian goods would have been reduced to 18% from a combined rate of 50%. The earlier rate of 50% had included a punitive levy of 25% imposed in August over India’s purchase of Russian oil.

However, negotiations on the final deal have been postponed after the US Supreme Court on February 20 struck down Trump’s global tariffs, ruling that he had exceeded his authority.

The judges said that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act that Trump had invoked “does not authorise the president to impose tariffs”.

After the Supreme Court struck down his levies, Trump imposed a temporary 10% tariff on goods imported into the US, citing his authority under the 1974 Trade Act.

The new tariff rate is for a maximum of 150 days, unless the US Congress approves an extension.

Additionally, the US president on February 21 said that he was also increasing the tariffs to the “fully allowed, and legally tested” level of 15% from 10% with immediate effect. However, it is unclear as to when the increased tariff rate would take effect.

This has left the status of US’ trade deals with countries, including India, unclear.

India and the US rescheduled a three-day meeting that was to begin on February 23 between officials to finalise the legal text of the trade agreement. On February 24, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said that the negotiations with the US will resume “as soon as there is more clarity” on the changes in tariffs announced by Washington.

Landau’s visit to New Delhi comes amid uncertainty over the trade deal negotiations with India and the conflict in West Asia.

On Thursday, the US deputy secretary of state said that it was in Washington’s interest and “we think it is also in India’s interest” to be partners, Bloomberg reported. “We have many many win-win situations with India,” he added.

Landau added that he was excited about the trade deal between the two countries, which he said “was almost at the finishing line now”, The Hindu reported.

On energy needs amid West Asia conflict

Landau also said that the US was willing to cooperate on energy as supply disruptions from the conflict in West Asia threaten to deplete fuel reserves.

“…We will work with you to make sure that your energy needs are met in the short term as well as the long term,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.

On a question about whether the US would allow India to buy Russian oil in light of the conflict, Landau said: “I hope India is thinking of alternate sources, and I can’t think of a better alternate source than the United States of America, we are a energy rich country.”

His comments came as the US on Thursday granted Indian refiners a 30-day waiver to buy Russian oil stranded at sea amid the conflict.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the decision was a short-term measure to keep oil supplies flowing globally amid disruptions because of the conflict.

The measure “will not provide significant financial benefit” to the Russian government because it only permits the trade of oil that is already stranded at sea, Bessent added.

India is a net importer of oil and gas, with around 80% to 85% of its energy requirements met through imports.

The price of benchmark Brent crude had reached $84 per barrel by Friday, marking a 15.9% increase from February 27, when it was at $72.87. The jump came after Israel and the US on February 28 launched a joint operation to “degrade the capabilities” of the Iranian government.

Iran retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region, and targeting major cities in other Gulf countries and some ships.

‘Landau telling us US will control India’s rise,’ says former diplomat

Commenting on the US deputy secretary of state’s remarks about not giving India the same economic advantages as China, former Indian diplomat Kanwal Sibal asked what was the point of giving such a “blunt” message.

“In advance he is telling us that the US will control and calibrate India’s economic rise,” Sibal said. “We should internalise this in our decision making. The response to this is to avoid giving sufficient levers to the US to control us, keep diversifying our economic partners and focus razor like on atmanirbharta [self-reliance].”

Also read: Why the US-Iran war will hurt India more than China