PM Narendra Modi held a phone call with US President Donald Trump Wednesday to review bilateral cooperation in trade, defence, critical technologies and energy, amid increasing friction in the relationship driven primarily by India’s purchase of Russian oil.Modi is learnt to have touched upon India’s concerns related to the US’ latest Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 (SRIA) that allows the president to impose up to 100 percent tariffs on countries like India and China for their procurement of Russian oil.In the run up to the Modi-Trump conversation – their first since they met in France in June – both external affairs minister S Jaishankar and foreign secretary Vikram Misri had flagged the same concerns with American authorities, emphasising the recently enacted SRIA would have consequences for India-US ties. India continues to maintain that its energy sourcing is driven by national interests and the need to ensure reliable and affordable supplies for 1.4 billion people.Modi said in a post on X that he had productive conversation with Trump. “We reviewed our bilateral cooperation in trade, defence, energy, critical technologies and other areas. We agreed to maintain close engagement to take our Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership forward,” said the PM, adding that they also exchanged views on regional and international issues, including ongoing efforts to advance global peace and security.An Indian readout said they agreed to maintain close engagement to deepen cooperation for the benefit of the people of both countries, and also to remain in touch. There was no White House readout till late in the evening.According to diplomatic sources, the conversation helped reinforce the strategic partnership amid the friction over the US passage of the Russia-related legislation, and also differences over trade that have prevented the 2 countries from concluding a bilateral trade agreement. Modi will travel to the US in December for the G20 summit in Florida where he is likely to also have a bilateral meeting with Trump. However, potential US tariffs or penalties could disrupt the diplomatic buildup to the visit.Jaishankar had raised India’s concerns related to the SRIA with his counterpart Marco Rubio in a meeting on the margins of the UNGA last week. Earlier this week, foreign secretary Vikram Misri told a visiting Congressional delegation that the new law will have a negative impact on not just bilateral relations but also the energy situation in global markets.
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Trade and energy, however, are not the only issues that India and the US need to address to get the relationship back on track. While still in the US, Jaishankar warned the Trump administration this week that the lack of empathy or understanding about India’s cross-border terrorism concerns – as evident from the US courting of Pakistan – will also hurt the relationship.
