New Delhi, May 26 (ANI): United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar exchange the signed India-US Framework for Securing Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths, in New Delhi on Tuesday | Photo Credit: ANI

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s four-day visit to India featured warm handshakes and promises of deeper cooperation. There was even a surprise call by President Donald Trump to a US embassy-sponsored bash in New Delhi, where he told guests how much he loved the country.

But underlying the pomp and mutual praise was an uncomfortable reality that kept creeping into Rubio’s visit: India continues to suffer the brunt of several Trump administration policies.

Those include Washington’s warming ties with Pakistan, Trump’s tariffs, new US immigration curbs and the White House’s shifting approach to New Delhi’s ties with Russia.

Rubio’s India tour marked the highest-profile visit by a senior US official since Vice President JD Vance’s trip a year ago. Rubio met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, and held a meeting with envoys from India, Japan and Australia as part of the security grouping known as Quad.

But unlike Vance’s visit, which had wall-to-wall TV coverage in India, Rubio’s trip was more muted. He was grilled by Indian and US journalists about the downturn in relations between the two countries, and faced awkward questions about Trump’s social media post last month referring to India as a “hellhole.”

In his public appearances, Rubio dismissed suggestions his visit was aimed at “restoring” damaged ties and insisted relations remained “very solid.” 

That was at odds with how officials in New Delhi and analysts saw the visit. Indian officials, who asked not to be identified in order to discuss internal matters, said they viewed the tour as an effort to stabilize ties following a year of deep strain. However, they said, it will take concrete actions to win back trust.

The US is India’s biggest export market and American investment and technology remain critical to New Delhi’s economic and technological goals. It’s for that reason that India wants to get relations back on track. India is willing to deepen cooperation with the US, but won’t do so at the cost of its core interests, the officials said.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs didn’t respond to a request for further information.

“A lot of Rubio’s comments sort of rang hollow,” said Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. For example, he said, as Rubio’s visit was getting underway, the Trump administration was unveiling an overhaul to its green card program whose impact would fall heavily on Indian immigrants to the US. 

“On the one hand, Rubio was using talking points that every secretary of state for the past 25 years has used, in terms of talking about the strategic importance the United States places on India,” Vaishnav said. “On the other hand, there seemed to be a real discrepancy between those talking points and the actual policies of this administration.” 

Under Trump, several pillars of the US-India relationship have been undermined. Washington last year slapped some of its highest tariffs on India, which included punitive levies for its import of Russian oil, before removing them in February. Its new green card policies come on top of last year’s restrictions on the H-1B skilled visa program, whose top beneficiaries were Indian workers.

India’s ties with Russia have been a source of tension with the US. Trump officials have repeatedly criticized India’s deep economic and defense ties with Russia, arguing purchases of cheap oil were helping President Vladimir Putin fund his war in Ukraine. India has defended its position by citing its energy security needs.

The Iran war has only strengthened India’s case. Soaring oil prices and gas shortages triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have hurt its economy and pushed India’s currency to a record low. The US has eased some restrictions on buying sanctioned Russian oil, and wants India to purchase more of its energy.

Perhaps most damaging has been the US embrace of India’s arch-rival Pakistan following a four-day military clash last year. Trump angered New Delhi by repeatedly saying he’d brokered a ceasefire between the nuclear-armed neighbors — a claim India has rejected. Despite India’s efforts to isolate its longtime foe, the US president went on to foster close ties with Pakistan and boosted the country’s status by relying on Islamabad to mediate Iran talks. 

Modi has since avoided meeting Trump in public settings for fear that the US president might bring up Pakistan, Bloomberg News previously reported. In his meeting with Modi on Sunday, Rubio invited the Indian leader to the White House on behalf of Trump — a request Modi didn’t publicly respond to.  

“It has been a brutal 2025” for US-India ties, said Rick Rossow, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. But while the US has tempered some of its approach, he added, there were no outcomes from the trip that would “change the game.”

Still, the two sides discussed deeper energy cooperation. And there has been some trade progress, with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer expected to visit India in the coming weeks to finalize an interim trade deal.

US Ambassador Sergio Gor, who arrived in New Delhi in January and is close to Trump, has also helped try to increase the administration’s attention to India.

That was on display on Sunday evening, during a party with more than 1,000 guests at a New Delhi convention center in honor of the 250th anniversary of American independence. Following a Bollywood dance show, Gor took to the stage and prepared to introduce Rubio — before pausing to say he had received a “call from a special guest who’s on the line.” 

“I hope you’re making a good speech,” Trump said as the crowd listened. “You have to be representative of our country, Sergio. But I just want to say hello to everybody. I love the Prime Minister. Modi is great.”

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

Published on May 27, 2026