Critical Minerals: Trump broke the agreement with India? India kept out of Critical Minerals Initiative

Trump India critical minerals: US President Donald Trump has recently announced an important initiative to strengthen the critical minerals supply chain. QUAD allies Japan and Australia have been included in this initiative, but India has not been given a place. This decision is shocking, because recently America had signed an important bilateral agreement with India under the US-India Critical and Emerging Technology Initiative. This step of Trump seems to be weakening India-America diplomatic relations.

Imbalance among QUAD allies

Keeping India out of the Critical Minerals Supply Chain Initiative by US President Donald Trump is being considered a major diplomatic decision. This initiative is primarily designed to reduce the dependence of critical minerals on China and strengthen their global supply chain. America has included QUAD allies Japan and Australia in this grouping.

Apart from this, countries like South Korea, Singapore, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Israel and United Arab Emirates (UAE) have also been given place. The exclusion of India, which is an active member of the QUAD, appears to be creating an imbalance among the member countries.

Neglect despite bilateral agreement

This decision of Trump has come when some time ago India and America had signed a bilateral agreement on Critical Minerals under the Critical and Emerging Technology Initiative (iCET). The objective of this agreement was to increase cooperation between the two countries in the field of critical minerals.

Keeping India out of this important multilateral initiative despite the agreement shows that the Trump administration is giving more importance to trade or other priorities than strategic partnership.

Impact on India-US relations

It is believed that this decision of Trump can weaken India-America diplomatic relations. Critical minerals are essential for modern technology, renewable energy and the defense industry. Being left out of this supply chain initiative means India may lag behind other allies in accessing secure and affordable supplies of these minerals.

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India’s neglect comes at a time when both countries are focusing on strengthening the strategic alliance to counter China’s growing economic and military power. By not joining this initiative, India may face difficulties in meeting its domestic technology and defense sector needs. The move could also hinder India from achieving its goals of reducing dependence on China.