The imposition of a steep 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods by US President Donald Trump and his subsequent remarks on mediating the India-Pakistan ceasefire significantly strained India-US bilateral ties, a senior American lawmaker has said during a Congressional hearing.Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Ranking Member of House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, made the observations at the panel’s first oversight hearing with Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Dr S Paul Kapur.Kamlager’s remarks brought into sharp focus how trade measures and sensitive diplomatic statements — particularly on issues of sovereignty — combined to complicate India-US relations during a period of heightened regional volatility.Referring to the tariff decision announced in April, Kamlager-Dove said the 50 per cent levy on India — among the highest imposed globally — “tore a needless rupture in bilateral ties” and undermined decades of careful trust-building between the two countries.The tariff move, she argued, came as an unexpected economic shock and dragged on trade negotiations for over a year, delaying high-level engagements, including the timely convening of the annual Quad Leaders’ Summit. The disruption, she suggested, weakened Washington’s strategic posture in the Indo-Pacific at a time of intensifying competition with China.From New Delhi’s standpoint, the tariff escalation marked a sharp inflection point in an otherwise expanding strategic partnership that has, in recent years, encompassed defence cooperation, critical technologies and Indo-Pacific coordination.Kamlager-Dove also pointed to the serious military confrontation between India and Pakistan in May — described as the most intense in decades — which raised concerns of nuclear escalation in a region home to nearly two billion people.While acknowledging the importance of US diplomatic engagement in securing a ceasefire, she said the effort was overshadowed by President Trump’s insistence on claiming credit for the truce and his offer to mediate the Kashmir dispute.India has consistently maintained that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between New Delhi and Islamabad and does not accept third-party mediation.