India - US: U.S. to Stay out of War; But Trade Deal is on
STORIES, ANALYSES, EXPERT VIEWS
Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, the U.S. has said it is not going to get involved in a war that's "fundamentally none of our business”. While the U.S. cannot control India and Pakistan, it can encourage the two nuclear-armed neighbours to de-escalate, Vice President J.D. Vance said last Thursday.
"Look, we're concerned about any time nuclear powers collide and have a major conflict," Vance said. But ”we can't control these countries though. Fundamentally, India has its gripes with Pakistan. Pakistan has responded to India. What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit. But we're not going to get involved in the middle of war that's fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America's ability to control it," the Vice President said.
"America can't tell the Indians to lay down their arms. We can't tell the Pakistanis to lay down their arms. And so we're going to continue to pursue this thing through diplomatic channels. Our hope and our expectation is that this is not going to spiral into a broader regional war or, God forbid, a nuclear conflict, but sure, we're worried about these things.
"But I think the job of diplomacy, but also the job of cooler heads in India and Pakistan is to make sure this doesn't become a nuclear war. If it happened of course it would be disastrous. Right now we don't think that's going to happen," he said.
Earlier Thursday, Secretary of State Rubio spoke separately with India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, emphasising the need for immediate de-escalation.
In his call with Jaishankar, Rubio expressed U.S. support for direct dialogue between India and Pakistan and encouraged continued efforts to improve communications. He reiterated his condolences for the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam and reaffirmed the U.S.' commitment to work with India in the fight against terrorism.
In his conversation with Sharif, Rubio reiterated his calls for Pakistan to take concrete steps to end any support for terrorist groups.
Trade deal around the corner
US President Donald Trump meanwhile said his administration might reach trade deals with some countries as early as this week. Earlier, Trump had said that the United States is eyeing "potential" trade deals with India, South Korea, and Japan.
India is one of several countries now in talks with the United States to avoid high import taxes announced by President Donald Trump. Most of these tariffs have been put on hold for now, but a basic 10% duty still applies, along with earlier tariffs of 25% on steel, aluminium, and car parts.
Commerce Minister, Piyush Goyal, was recently in the United States to negotiate a mutually beneficial Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by autumn 2025. Both leaders had agreed to appoint senior officials to take these talks forward.
US Vice-President J D Vance has called Prime Minister Modi a “tough negotiator” and accused India of taking advantage of America, while predicting that New Delhi could be among the first countries to reach a trade agreement aimed at avoiding US tariffs. The US vice president said there is a 'good negotiation' going on in India.
