Who blocked the trade deal between India and US?
What's the story
US Senator Ted Cruz has claimed that Vice President JD Vance and White House Economic Adviser Peter Navarro were behind blocking a proposed trade deal between the United States and India. The revelation was made during a private meeting with donors, Axios reported. The audio recordings also criticize President Donald Trump for "sometimes" obstructing the proposed US-India trade deal.
Policy critique
Cruz criticizes Trump's trade policy
The 10-minute audio clip, shared with Axios by a Republican source, criticizes the Trump administration's trade policy. This comes at a time when India and the US have been negotiating trade deals for some time now. The negotiations gained even more importance after the Trump administration imposed an additional 25% tariff on India, taking total duties to 50%.
Tariff warning
Cruz warns Trump about potential consequences of tariffs
Cruz had warned Trump about the possible repercussions of the Liberation Day tariffs on countries worldwide. He cautioned that these tariffs could increase prices and hurt Americans' retirement savings accounts, potentially costing the Republican party both the House and Senate to opposition Democrats in 2026 midterm elections. Cruz recalled a late-night call with Trump shortly after the tariffs were announced, during which several senators urged him to reconsider.
Impact
Potential political fallout
Cruz warned Trump that the economic fallout from these tariffs could be devastating for Republicans politically. "If we get to November of [2026] and people's 401(k)s are down 30% and prices are up 10-20% at the supermarket, we're going to go into Election Day, face a bloodbath," Cruz said. The senator had also ridiculed Trump's branding of the tariff rollout as "Liberation Day," saying he had instructed his staff never to use that term.