How should India build 'indispensable capabilities' to remain strategically relevant to the U.S. amid a more transactional American foreign policy? Discuss with reference to defence and technology cooperation.

Washington's turn from values-based alignment to interest-based bargaining — visible in reciprocal tariffs on India being negotiated down from 25% to 18% only in February 2026 [2] — means goodwill no longer guarantees access. India must therefore convert itself from a convenient partner into an indispensable one by building capabilities the U.S. cannot easily source elsewhere.

Defence: from buyer to co-producer

• Shift from arms-purchase dependence to co-production, using the agreed procurement and co-production arrangements for Javelin ATGMs and Stryker combat vehicles [1].
• Institutionalise predictability through the ten-year Framework for the Major Defence Partnership (2025-35) [1], insulating defence ties from tariff-linked turbulence.
• Deepen the domestic base: defence production reached a record ~₹1.78 lakh crore and exports ~₹38,424 crore in FY 2025-26, with the private sector's share at an all-time high [4]. Scale makes India a supply-chain node, not a customer.

Technology: own the critical layers

• Operationalise U.S.-India TRUST (Transforming the Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technology) [1] in semiconductors, AI, space and critical minerals — areas where the U.S. seeks China-free alternatives.
• Anchor this in domestic capacity via PLI and the Semiconductor Mission, so cooperation rests on Indian competence rather than concessions.

Economic-diplomatic leverage

• Conclude the full Bilateral Trade Agreement, building on the April 2025 Terms of Reference [3] and the interim deal [2], while diversifying markets so no single partner can dictate terms.
• Pursue Mission 500 — trade of $500 billion by 2030 [1] — making the relationship commercially too valuable to disrupt.

Indispensability is earned, not conferred. India's calibrated response — negotiating firmly on trade while expanding defence co-production and technology co-development — reflects strategic autonomy exercised through capability, not distance. If domestic manufacturing depth is matched with credible technological competence, transactional pressure becomes an opportunity to convert dependence into partnership of equals.