Washington, Oct 28: Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have joined hands to support the India-US relationship, months after the Trump administration announced a series of policies targeting Indian interests.

At least six bipartisan letters and resolutions have been drafted over the past 10 days defending the interests of the Indian American community, reaffirming support for the India–US partnership, and pressing the administration for accountability over its recent actions targeting New Delhi.

Last week, a group of House members expressed concern that an event at Rutgers University on Monday could “fuel further prejudice” against Hindus at a time when Hindu temples have been targets of violence.

The co-signers of the letter were Democrats Sanford Bishop from Georgia, Shri Thanedar from Illinois, and Suhas Subramanyam from Virginia, and Republican Rich McCormick, also from Georgia.

Two days earlier, another bipartisan group of six House Representatives wrote to US President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, expressing concerns over the H-1B proclamation.

“We are concerned that the recent proclamation related to H-1B visa petitions will create significant challenges for US employers and overall weaken our competitiveness,” the letter stated.

The group again included Democrat Suhas Subramanyam along with Republican Congressmen Jay Obernolte and Don Bacon, among others.

On October 17, four US lawmakers wrote to President Donald Trump, urging him to attend the Quad Leaders’ Summit in India and other meetings in Asia.

The same day, a bipartisan resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives to recognise the “contributions made to the United States by the Indian American diaspora” and condemn recent acts of racism against Indian Americans.

The resolution also termed the India-US relationship as “one of the most important democratic partnerships in the world”.

It was a sharp departure from just days earlier, when 19 House members, all Democrats with no Republican support, wrote to President Donald Trump on October 8, urging him to “reset and repair” the India-US “critical partnership”.

Leaders from both Democratic and Republican parties have faced criticism for mostly remaining silent as senior officials of the Trump administration, like Trade Advisor Peter Navarro and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, repeatedly targeted India over its purchase of Russian oil and trade imbalance.

In August, the Trump administration imposed 50 per cent tariffs on New Delhi, which included a 25 per cent levy for importing Russian oil.

Then, in September, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on H-1B visas, imposing a $100,000 application fee to restrict the programme. Over 70 per cent of the approved H-1B applications in 2024 went to Indian nationals.

While a handful of Democrats opposed the administration’s stance publicly, Republican lawmakers, until recently, decided to keep quiet.

In early October, Democratic Representative Ami Bera, a leading advocate of the US-India relationship, told Media that some Republican lawmakers have remained silent out of fear of the president.

“I think they’re certainly afraid to take on President Trump directly,” he said.

In recent weeks, ties have stabilised, and negotiators have resumed talks to finalise the first phase of a trade agreement.

Last week, President Donald Trump held a special Diwali event at the White House where he termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi “a great person” and said he loves “the people of India.”

Bera added that more members should come out to support the relationship.

“Instead of making this about President Trump, let’s make it about the US-India relationship. Let’s make it about what we think as members of Congress – Democrats and Republicans. I don’t want the India-US relationship to be a Democratic thing or a Republican thing. It should be an American thing,” he told Media.

Washinton, Oct 27: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that he believes the US has reached a framework agreement with China to avoid imposing an additional 100 per cent tariff on Chinese imports.

“I think we’ve reached a substantial framework for the two leaders who will meet next Thursday… that tariffs will be averted,” Bessent said on Sunday to media from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where President Donald Trump arrived on Saturday for a weeklong Asia diplomacy tour.

Trump is expected to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea later this week.

Earlier, Chinese International Trade Representative Li Chenggang said the US and China had reached “preliminary consensus” on trade issues during discussions in Malaysia, according to Chinese media.

Bessent did not provide details about the framework but said on media that he anticipates the US would get “some kind of deferral” on rare-earth export controls.

The minerals have been central to trade tensions between the top global economies.

Bessent said the framework sets up Trump and Xi “to have a very productive meeting,” adding, “I think it will be fantastic for US citizens, for US farmers, and for our country in general.”

Bessent indicated that an escalation in tariffs on China is “effectively off the table” following what he described as “very good” trade talks with his Chinese counterparts.

President Trump had threatened an additional 100 per cent tariff on China from November 1 over Beijing’s efforts to impose export controls on critical rare earths, ratcheting up tensions between the US and China.

Asked about the status of those tariffs, Bessent told media on Sunday that tariff threat has “gone away” after two days of talks in Malaysia.

“We had a very good two-day meeting. I would believe that the – so it would be an extra 100 per cent from where we are now, and I believe that that is effectively off the table.”

He added, “I would expect that the threat of the 100 per cent has gone away, as has the threat of the immediate imposition of the Chinese initiating a worldwide export control regime.”

US and Chinese trade negotiators reached a “basic consensus” on how to address their “respective concerns,” Chinese state media said on Sunday, following talks between the two sides over the weekend in Kuala Lumpur.

A delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met with US officials including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jameson Greer for the talks, which come days ahead of a highly anticipated meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump.

The two leaders are expected to meet on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea, though Beijing, unlike Washington, has yet to confirm the meeting.

Earlier on Sunday, Bessent said the two sides had “set the stage for the leaders’ meeting” with a “very successful framework for the leaders to discuss”.

“The two sides engaged in candid, in-depth, and constructive exchanges and consultations on major economic and trade issues of mutual concern,” the Chinese state media readout said.

It listed out those issues as including US penalties on China’s maritime logistics and shipbuilding industry, reciprocal tariffs, fentanyl tariffs, agricultural trade, and export controls – a sweeping set of frictions that have set the world’s two largest economies at loggerheads.

“Two sides reached a basic consensus on arrangements to address each other’s concerns. Both sides agreed to further finalise the specific details and fulfil their respective domestic approval processes,” the readout said.

Trade and tech tensions between the world’s two biggest economies have heightened in recent weeks after the US expanded its export blacklist, hitting China’s access to American high-tech, while China ramped up its own export controls on rare earth minerals.

New Delhi, Oct 25: Amid the massive crackdown on cybercriminals in Myanmar, India needs to remain vigilant about numerous cyber scam centres in China-Myanmar border areas that target its citizens, according to a report.

The scam hubs in Kayin State, the Wa region, and the China-Myanmar border areas, where the central government’s reach is limited, lure victims with fake online job postings, confiscate passports, and force them to conduct fraudulent cryptocurrency and romance scams targeting victims worldwide, according to the report in India Narrative

“New Delhi, Beijing, and Bangkok have all demanded that Naypyidaw take action after hundreds of their citizens were trafficked into scam operations,” the report mentioned.

According to reports, a statement by Myanmar’s military information ministry said its forces had “cleared” KK Park, a synonymous with online fraud, money laundering and human trafficking for the past five years.

More than 2,000 people were detained, and around 30 Starlink satellite terminals used to maintain communications networks for scam operations were seized.

For India, these cyber hubs have become a mounting concern.

In March this year, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that almost 300 nationals had been rescued from cyber-scam compounds in Southeast Asia, including in Myanmar. According to reports, up to 540 individuals were repatriated in a subsequent phase via Thailand.

Notably, a hybrid form of governance, blending armed-group control, corruption, and foreign criminal investment, has turned Kayin State into a cybercrime haven.

“For the Myanmar junta, the KK Park raid signals to neighbouring countries that it can enforce border security and control hybrid criminal-militia activities,” the report noted.

However, the challenges remain as the networks behind these compounds are deeply embedded in cross-border trafficking and crypto-fraud.

According to media reports, more than 5,400 Chinese suspects involved in telecom fraud in Myawaddy, Myanmar, have been repatriated in a joint crackdown on cross-border telecom fraud launched by China, Myanmar, and Thailand since the beginning of 2025.