Fareed Zakaria: ‘Only India Can Replace China, But Trump’s Tariffs Threaten Ties’

Foreign affairs commentator Fareed Zakaria has sharply criticised former U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a 50% tariff on Indian goods, calling it “a move that makes no sense.” Speaking on the Prof G Conversations podcast, Zakaria said the U.S. administration’s policy shift appears deliberate and damaging. “I still haven’t heard a coherent reason why this has happened. Trump is trying systematically and consciously to screw India,” he said, expressing disbelief at how India now faces the world’s highest U.S. tariffs.

Zakaria reflected on how Washington had spent decades strengthening ties with New Delhi — from Clinton’s state visit to Bush’s recognition of India as a nuclear power, and Obama’s pivot to Asia. “For 25 years, the U.S. worked to bring India closer into its sphere of influence,” he said, lamenting that Trump’s policies have reversed that progress by alienating one of America’s strongest democratic allies.

Highlighting India’s growing importance in global manufacturing, Zakaria argued that “only India can play the role of the next China.” He emphasised that India alone has the scale to produce large quantities of electronics, pharmaceuticals, and other essential goods, which the world cannot depend on China for in the next pandemic. “If you want to make things at a massive scale, it’s not going to happen in Texas, California, or Europe — only India can do that,” he said.

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