Former US Charge d&rsquo;Affaires to India, Donald Heflin, has warned that erratic American diplomacy is making trade negotiations with New Delhi more challenging. Speaking from his position as Senior Fellow at the Fletcher School, Tufts University, Heflin said traditional norms of diplomacy in Washington are &ldquo;broken.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Normally, you go to a country like India and say we are thinking about raising tariffs on you, and here&rsquo;s why. Now, if you can address the problem we&rsquo;re concerned about, or give us some other possible answer, we are happy to talk about that. Then you work out the issues with mid-level professional diplomats, and then the leaders talk,&rdquo; Heflin explained.
He stressed that a wave of resignations and retirements in the diplomatic corps over the past eight months has left many officials hesitant to voice unpopular opinions. The presence of more political appointees at senior levels, he said, has further eroded the institutional expertise needed to manage complex negotiations.
&ldquo;What normally should happen is a leader like Trump should be able to turn to the State Department and say, I want to do this, figure out how to do it. Now, everybody who knows how to do that is gone or afraid to speak out. So, that&rsquo;s a real problem,&rdquo; Heflin noted.
Despite these concerns, Heflin expressed cautious optimism about the recent appointment of Sergio Gor as the next US ambassador to India. &ldquo;Sergio is not one of the radicals in the Trump administration. He was a voice for reasonableness during the first Trump term. He&rsquo;ll be okay. I think he&rsquo;ll be a steady hand at the wheel,&rdquo; he said.
Yet, Heflin warned that Gor will face challenges due to the thinning ranks of experienced embassy personnel. &ldquo;Some of the people he normally would be able to count on are now gone or they&rsquo;ll go soon or they&rsquo;re afraid to speak out. So, a lot of the tools that he would normally have won&rsquo;t be there,&rdquo; he added.
Heflin also linked US trade policy shifts in the Indo-Pacific to broader strategic priorities, particularly efforts to renegotiate economic arrangements with China. &ldquo;There is a temptation to say if we could cut a good deal with China, that&rsquo;d be great. If we could peel them off of Russia right now, that&rsquo;d be the best thing we could do. Well, what about Australia, Japan and India, who kind of lined themselves up with us. What do we do about them? That could be happening,&rdquo; he said.
On India&rsquo;s response, Heflin advised flexibility. &ldquo;If you look back over the decades, the US has been a constant suitor of India. India was always hot and cold. Well, the US is taking the same attitude. I&rsquo;m not sure how much India&rsquo;s pride will let it do that. But I think that&rsquo;s where we are now,&rdquo; he concluded.

US Diplomacy Shifts Could Strain India Trade

Ex-US diplomat warns unpredictable Washington approach complicates India trade talks

US Diplomacy Shifts Could Strain India Trade

Ex-US diplomat warns unpredictable Washington approach complicates India trade talks

August 28, 2025 | 17:35 IST