‘Trump forcing India to sit with the Chinese’: Former NSA Jake Sullivan lashes out at US tariffs

Former subject certificate Advisor Jake louis sullivan has come to come out at US President Donald Trump for imposing a 'massive trade offensive' against India and said the Republican President is pushing New Delhi towards China.

Sullivan said that the allies now see the US as a 'big disruptor' while China has moved ahead of America in popularity.

"When I go to these places now and I talk to leaders, they are talking about derisking from the United States. They now see the US as the big disruptor, the country that can't be counted on," Sullivan said in The Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller.

While China is looking like a responsible player at a global stage, the US brand is in the toilet, Sullivan said.

Also Read: Peter Navarro continues India tirade after Trump tariffs: 'Largest democracy turned oil money laundromat'

"China has moved ahead of the United States in popularity in a whole lot of countries. And that was not the case one year ago, where countries now are basically saying the US brand is in the toilet and China is looking like a responsible player," he said.

Citing the case of India, the former NSA said that the US was working to build a deeper and more sustainable relationship with India. However, Trump imposed massive tariffs on India, forcing the country "to sit with China".

"Take a look at India, as another example. Here's a country that on a bipartisan basis, we were working and trying to build a deeper and more sustainable relationship with, and the China challenge loomed large in that. Now you have got President Trump executing a massive trade offensive against them and the Indians are saying, ‘Well, I guess maybe we have to go show up in Beijing and sit with the Chinese because we got a hedge against America’," he added.

Also Read: American economist's 'BRICS' warning to 'world's tough guy' over Trump's 50% tariffs on India

The remarks from the former top US official come days after the 50% tariff imposed by Trump on India came into effect on August 27. The tariffs on Indian exports is the highest tariff on any country, in a move that it likely to hurt growth and jobs. Trump has attributed the additional 25% tariffs to New Delhi's purchase of the Russian oil.

The steep taxes on India have raised concerns over exports to the US and likely to adversely hit several sectors like textiles, jewellery, and mechanical appliances.

Earlier on Friday, a report by a top American investment bank said that the US tariffs on Indian goods are largely a result of President Donald Trump's "personal pique" at not being allowed to mediate in the India-Pakistan conflict.

The Jefferies report said that Trump had “hoped to intervene” in the India-Pakistan conflict in May. The report also pointed agriculture as another sticking point in the trade relations between the two countries.

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