India Should Not Leave Quad And Allow US To Dictate Ties With China: Jeffrey Sachs | Trump | PM Modi

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]Well, in fact, it's interesting because historically we've always heard from you, Professor Sachs, that if there are three men that Donald Trump will listen to one of them, of course, being President Xi, the other being President Putin, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

[00:00:12]But speaking of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, very recently he was hosting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He was here as a part of the Quad meeting, and he spoke about India, about Prime Minister Modi in very glorious terms.

[00:00:25]There was also this dinner hosted by the US Embassy, where Sergio Gold, the US Ambassador to India, called Donald Trump, then put him on speaker phone, where he talked about how India and how Prime Minister Modi could rely 100% on the US. What do you make of that? Is that damage control after the tariff attacks, after immigration-related issues? Is this damage control by the United States? Do they need to do that?

[00:00:51]>> Of course, it's damage control. Last year was pathetic. We had our stupidest people in government casting aspersions on India all year. We had the taunts about India coming from Trump himself.

[00:01:07]Yes, this is damage control. But I have to repeat what I always say, India should not be part of the Quad, period. This is a US blatant anti-China maneuver. India doesn't need to be part of an American maneuver against China.

[00:01:27]India and China should work on their own bilateral relations.

[00:01:32]They're the two giants of the world.

[00:01:35]Between the two, they constitute almost 40% of the world population. They should not let the United States get in the middle of their bilateral relationship, which indeed is a very important one.

[00:01:48]Still less in something like the Quad, which is absolutely directed against China. India should not be should not allow itself to be played in that way in my opinion.

[00:02:04]>> Uh one of the issues uh Professor Sachs that was up for discussion, of course, was the trade deal. Even as we speak, there's a a US trade delegation that's on its way to India. Uh Sergio Gorga, the ambassador of United States to India, has said that only the one final 1% remains. Uh tell us uh what will be key for crossing this last 1% hurdle uh for the India-US trade deal, and between the two, who stands to benefit more?

[00:02:32]>> Well, uh who stands to benefit depends on who makes concessions, but what India should remember is that Donald Trump's tariffs are illegal.

[00:02:43]The Supreme Court ruled them illegal.

[00:02:46]I made this point many times in India last year that not only are Trump's tariff policies absurd from the American economic objectives, but they're also illegal. I wasn't sure whether the Supreme Court would actually recognize them as illegal, but they did. Then Trump immediately went to a different part uh of our legislation and reasserted tariffs under a different authority, which the courts promptly also ruled are illegal and are now being appealed on the way to the Supreme Court. In other words, you're playing with a guy that uh doesn't even hold cards.

[00:03:31]Uh and India's saying, "Oh, we're going to get a great deal. Yes, it won't be uh symmetrical. We'll give up our market, and so forth." Don't do it.

[00:03:40]Just take care. Uh Trump does not have the legal authority that he claims. And Trump needs India more than India uh needs the United States. This is uh another point. So, strike a good deal.

[00:03:59]>> Strike a good deal. And speaking of a good deal, we've seen in recently in the last 12 odd months greater proximity between the two countries, especially when it comes to technology. India has joined the pact silica initiative when it comes to semiconductors. US has spoken of India as a trusted partner when it comes to issues of critical minerals for AI. There is also growing understanding between the two countries on nuclear energy.

[00:04:25]Again, to what do you attribute this growing proximity? Is this a partnership that you see growing in the days, weeks, months, years to come?

[00:04:35]>> The United States views India as part of its effort against China.

[00:04:42]India may view the United States as a way to bolster its technology.

[00:04:48]Of course, there are family and cultural and educational ties between India and the United States. So, I don't want to deny any of that. But the United States wants to use India against China.

[00:05:04]India, in my view, is a great country, a great civilization, one that experienced imperialism for centuries. It should not allow itself to be used in any way, much less by a country that is a fourth of its population.

[00:05:24]And so, strike deals, but don't side with the United States against China.

[00:05:31]India and China would have a tremendously positive relationship in technology, in investment, in infrastructure, in in multi- lateral governance. And so, what I keep emphasizing is don't be used by the United States. You think this is a deep partnership? Review what happened last year. It's not a deep partnership.

[00:05:59]It is a strategic uh and tactical set of moves by the United States uh government, which was perfectly able to slur and slander India last year to its heart's content, to put on unilateral measures when it wanted, to put on penalties when it wanted, to uh say terrible things about uh the Indian economy when it wanted. Now, it's all sweet talk because uh it didn't work the other way. Just be careful. That's my point.

[00:06:33]>> My one final question to you, Professor Sachs. One word of advice that you would leave with uh Donald Trump, and one word of advice that you would leave with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

[00:06:44]>> Well, for Donald Trump, I would say stop the wars, go home, pay attention to uh our own country, my neighborhood, where the infrastructure's breaking down, where there are people that need help.

[00:06:58]Stop wasting our trillions of dollars on these useless wars. Uh and for Prime Minister Modi, uh you know, uh India is a great uh country that will be the second largest economy in the world in the not-too-distant future. Uh and one way to do that is good relations with everybody, including China, including Russia, and not to choose one side against another. I think uh Indian leaders know this.