WASHINGTON DC – NOVEMBER 10: US President Donald Trump shakes hands with US Ambassador to India Sergio Gol during the swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House on November 10, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images
US President Donald Trump faces a new test of political diplomacy with India as longtime ally Sergio Goh becomes New Delhi’s ambassador amid tensions over trade and Russian oil imports that are weighing on the two countries’ strategic relationship.
At Mr Goh’s swearing-in ceremony on Monday, President Trump said the US may soon reduce tariffs on Indian goods, suggesting the two sides were close to a trade deal.
“Tariffs on India are very high because of Russian oil (imports), but now Russian oil (imports) have decreased significantly, so we will lower the tariffs,” Trump said.
However, according to data from market research firm Kupler, India imported 1.59 million barrels per day (mbd) of Russian crude oil in October, almost unchanged from September.
“So far, 1.73 million barrels of Russian exports have been delivered to India in October, while the final destination of the remaining 302 kilobarrels (1,000 barrels per day) has not yet been determined (some may end up in India),” the tank tracker said, adding, “It is still too early to draw a clear outlook for November.”
Trump said Go’s priorities include boosting investment in key U.S. industries, increasing U.S. energy exports and expanding security cooperation.
“We are looking to Mr. Sergio to strengthen one of our most important relationships: our strategic partnership with the Republic of India,” Trump said.
Gore, whose nomination as US ambassador to India was confirmed by the Senate on October 7, arrived in New Delhi a few days later and met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss defense, trade and technology. “We also discussed the importance of minerals that are important to both countries,” Go said in a statement.
Alexandra Harman of Oxford Economics said Gore represents a White House push for faster, more direct communication with New Delhi, bypassing the usual diplomatic bureaucracy.
“(This) suggests a desire to reach a trade deal sooner rather than later,” Herrmann said.
“The appointment of a ‘political’ ambassador rather than a ‘traditional’ diplomat may certainly accelerate the situation, but if public opinion in either country deteriorates, the gap between the two countries will disappear and the risk of further instability in relations also increases,” he added.
indian tilt
Experts say high tariffs, $100,000 fees for H-1B visas and Trump’s repeated insistence on brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan are among the issues that have led to a deterioration in strategic relations between New Delhi and Washington in recent months.
“You can’t be the most taxed country in the world, even more than China, and still talk about military friendship and joint exercises,” former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said at a Nov. 6 event hosted by the Chicago Council on International Studies.
The last time Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger tilted the United States toward Pakistan during the 1971 India-Pakistan war, it pushed India closer to the Soviet Union for the next 25 years, warns Rajan, now a finance professor at the University of Chicago Booth.
Shortly after the US imposed 50% tariffs on exports to India in August, Prime Minister Modi attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin, where a video of him laughing with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin went viral.
The New York Times described the moment as “a smiling manifestation of the troika that Moscow has recently said it wanted to revive,” noting the apparent closeness between Mr. Modi and Mr. Putin, who were on board for the sideline meeting.
India’s expansion into Russia continues. The Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO), an organization under India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, announced this week that delegations from 20 Indian companies have participated in this year’s Moscow International Tool Expo.
“Our engineering exports to Russia are growing rapidly and are expected to reach $1.75 billion this year,” FIEO Chairman SC Ralhan said in a statement, adding that participation in the exhibition will “deepen commercial ties” and help promote bilateral trade between the two countries.
But experts say Russia remains a limited partner compared to the United States.
According to India Brand Equity Foundation, India exported $4.88 billion and imported $63.84 billion to Russia in FY25. By contrast, the United States accounts for 18% of India’s exports, compared to just 1% for Russia, according to Oxford Economics’ Herrmann.
