New Delhi: Amid strained ties with the US, the Indian embassy in Washington D.C. earlier this month signed on Mercury Public Affairs as a part of lobbying efforts for three months.
Susie Wiles, the current Chief of Staff of President Donald Trump, was a co-chair at Mercury Public Affairs from 2022 until 7 November last year when she was appointed to her current position in the White House.
“Consultant will provide strategic government relations and communications services (“Services”) to Client (Embassy of India) consistent with the terms and parameters of the Agreement as follows: Federal government relations, strategic media relations, a digital audit, digital strategy consulting and paid advertising,” Mercury Public Affairs’ registration statement as a foreign agent filed to the US Department of Justice said.
Former Republican senator David Vitter signed the contract on behalf of Mercury Public Affairs. The registration of the latest lobbying group comes after the Indian embassy snapped up SHW Partners LLC (SHW) in April, days after the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
The contract was signed effective from 15 August and will continue till 14 November. The Indian embassy will be paying roughly $75,000 a month until November for its lobbying efforts. With the addition of Mercury, the Indian embassy is paying roughly $275,000 a month for its overall lobbying efforts.
Ties between India and the US have been strained in the last few months, particularly over the stalled negotiations for a bilateral trade deal. Trump in recent weeks has also criticised India’s continued purchase of Russian oil. The American President on 6 August announced the imposition of additional tariffs of 25 percent on India, which are set to kick in on 27 August.
The additional tariffs are stacked above the baseline tariff of 25 percent, raising levies on Indian imports to 50 percent, one of the highest for any American trading partner.
India has been peeved with Trump’s repeated claims of mediating an end to the 87-hour conflict with Pakistan earlier in May. It has maintained that the pause in the conflict was arrived at bilaterally between the two militaries and that the US had no role to play in it.
Apart from the mediation claims repeated by Trump, New Delhi has drawn a red-line over trade negotiations with regards to giving American firms access to India’s agriculture and dairy sectors. While a mini-trade deal was expected to be signed before the imposition of the baseline tariffs, the negotiations fell through due to the US’ demands over more access to sectors sensitive to the government of India.
The next round of negotiations for the larger bilateral trade deals has been rescheduled from its earlier date of 25 August. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar Saturday said that the negotiations have not been cancelled yet.
Trump and his senior officials have recently ratcheted up the pressure on New Delhi due to its purchase of Russian oil. Last year, India purchased roughly $56 billion worth of crude from Russia, which accounted for almost 40 percent of its total oil imports.
Peter Navarro, the Counsellor to President Trump, has claimed that India has been profiteering from cheap Russian oil, exporting its derivatives at huge profits. India’s imports of Russian crude grew considerably since Moscow’s current phase of warfare with Ukraine began in 2022. The G7 imposed price cap ensuring that Russian crude would be sold at below $60 a barrel made it attractive for a number of countries, including China and India.
The price cap was designed keeping in mind India, former American envoy Eric Garcetti said sometime last year.
Trump Friday also announced Sergio Gor as the next ambassador to India subject to Senate confirmation. Gor, will also be the Special Envoy for South Asian and Central Asian affairs. The 38-year-old is considered to be extremely loyal to Trump and is currently the director of personnel at the White House.
The uptick in lobbying efforts come as New Delhi looks to safeguard its strategic ties with the US. While political ties are tense at the moment, defence cooperation continues apace between the two countries.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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