Jaishankar says every country must reset ties with US as Washington changes global engagement

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said countries around the world would have to rethink their ties with the United States as Washington changes the way it deals with other nations.

“The United States has repositioned itself. You know, it's changed the manner in which it engages the world, the basis on which it engages the world. So I think every country, in a way, has to recalculate and reset its relationship with the United States,” Jaishankar said during a conversation with Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi.

Asked how India planned to deal with the US under its changing approach, Jaishankar referred to his foreign policy formula of “engage America, manage China, cultivate Europe, and reassure Russia”. He said Japan was also part of the formulation.


Jaishankar mentioned that the phrase was meant to sum up India's foreign policy priorities in a few words. He also clarified that did not mean dealing with Washington would be easy.

He recalled coming up with the formulation in 2020, when multiple geopolitical developments were ongoing such as Brexit, Donald Trump's election and the growing backlash against globalisation.

According to Jaishankar, India is not alone in having to adjust its relationship with Washington. The US is also reviewing its alliances and reconsidering the terms of its treaty commitments with other countries.

India, however, faces a different situation as it does not have a formal alliance with the US. Instead, the two countries share a strong strategic partnership, which Jaishankar said should not be confused with an alliance.

On tariffs and trade talks

Turning to trade, Jaishankar said Washington's approach to tariffs had changed considerably. Alongside the US is looking to rebuild its domestic industries and renegotiate the terms on which other countries access its market.

“The U.S. is today determined to reindustrialise and to reset the terms of access to its economy, and that's what the whole tariff debate is about,” he said, adding that the two goals were closely linked.

Jaishankar said trade negotiations with the US were not just about what India could secure for itself, but also about the terms Washington was offering other countries.

How India fares against competing economies would also matter, he said. However, that picture was still unclear as several countries had yet to finalise their trade arrangements with the US.

He said officials from both the US Trade Representative and India's commerce and industry minister, were working through the remaining issues.

“My sense is that this is an issue which is heading towards a landing point,” Jaishankar said, indicating that the negotiations were moving closer to a resolution.