At the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi, India, Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait interviewed Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who was asked about ongoing trade negotiations with President Trump and his administration.
[NOTE: Trump announced last week that he would ease restrictions on Russian diesel exports, allowing U.S. imports. The move, a reversal, followed U.S. pressure on India to reduce its purchases of Russian oil, including punitive tariffs and a new law authorizing tariffs of up to 100 percent on countries buying Russian energy. The U.S. first banned Russian energy imports following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.]
Micklethwait, who noted that Jaishankar once said that “America is deliberately becoming a lonelier power,” asked: “If you were America, you would imagine that trying to bring in allies like India, especially if you think you’re in a competition with China, would make sense. So from that perspective, do you find that policy odd?”
Jaishankar responded: “I think a lot of what America is revising are its alliances, the terms of its treaty relationships. So the sentiment is most strongly felt vis-a-vis Europe.”
He added, “We have many issues we are working on with the United States, but we don’t have an issue in the terms of alliance because we are not officially an ally. We are a country that has a strong strategic partnership with the U.S. But a strategic partnership is a partnership. It’s not an alliance.”
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait that trade negotiations with the US were close to a conclusion, though final details remained to be resolved. They spoke at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi https://t.co/lxFPJxOuUV
— Bloomberg (@business) October 13, 2026
While the Bloomberg interview is being amplified on social media, Indian Prime Minister Modi today reported on his telephone call with the Prime Minister of Canada, another nation that has faced a steep rise in U.S. tariffs under Trump.
Modi wrote: “Had a warm and productive conversation with Prime Minister Mark Carney. We agreed to build on the positive momentum in India-Canada ties and work towards concrete outcomes across key areas of our Strategic Partnership, including trade, energy, technology, security and people-to-people ties. Together, India and Canada are contributing towards a more stable and prosperous world.”
Had a warm and productive conversation with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
We agreed to build on the positive momentum in India-Canada ties and work towards concrete outcomes across key areas of our Strategic Partnership, including trade, energy, technology, security and people-to-people ties.
Together, India and Canada are contributing towards a more stable and prosperous world.
@MarkJCarney
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 13, 2026
Carney’s office wrote after the call that “the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to conclude negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) at the earliest opportunity, supporting efforts to double two-way trade by 2030.”
Carney also thanked Modi “for his leadership in seeking a peaceful resolution to Russia’s war on Ukraine.” Modi is scheduled to visit Carney in Canada in December.