India must draw a red line on U.S. unilateral sanctions

The dust — nuclear and otherwise — has yet to settle on how the United States-Israel war against Iran will ultimately end, but its impact on India’s growth projections is evident. Already reeling from U.S. tariffs, the Indian economy has seen damage pile up due to the U.S.-Israel initiation of the war, Iran’s targeting of Gulf countries, and now the ‘double blockade’ of the Strait of Hormuz by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and U.S. forces — manifested in rising energy bills, higher shipping and insurance costs, supply chain disruptions, a slump in exports (down 7% in March), and mounting inflation. The rupee’s fall has resulted in India slipping from being projected to fourth spot, to sixth in terms of the largest economies rankings, according to the International Monetary Fund.

India is by no means the only country thus affected, but as the world’s most populous nation, it is bound to feel the effects more acutely. Given the little attention that the U.S. has paid to India’s economic concerns, it is surprising that the Narendra Modi government continues to pay heed to U.S. unilateral sanctions amid the war. This month, as temporary waivers on many of those sanctions come up for renewal, it is time for New Delhi to unequivocally denounce them and declare that it will no longer abide by them.