It also doesn't help that India's ONGC [0] and ExxonMobil [1] are competing for the same oil project in Russia (Sakhalin-1), which is what lead to the US-India tiff over Russian oil.

That said, recent Trump diktats like the 100% tariff on foreign branded pharmaceuticals while excluding generics have been viewed positively within India [2], as it hurts European competitors and makes the India-EFTA (read: Switzerland) FTA even more competitive to bring manufacturing capacity to India. Same with the recent H1B ruling, which while unpopular amongst middle class Indians, is viewed positively by Indian policymakers as forcing a reverse brain drain [3] and incentivizing GCCs [4].

India is also trying to give concessions to ExxonMobil in Indian LNG infra to remove the blocker [5]. This also helps India negotiate the FTA with Qatar [6] because Qatar's LNG is extracted and exported through Qatar-Exxon JVs [7]

That said, Grassley and Iowa republicans remain a blocker [8][9] because they want to export soybean and dairy to India becuase they are now shut out of the Chinese market because of Trump (which has made Iowa's gubernatorial election much more competitive), which is a huge red line for India. Same with dairy in Wisconsin and the Indian market.

[0] - https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/exclusive-indias-ongc-...

[1] - https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/exxon-rosneft-russia...

[2] - https://www.biospectrumindia.com/news/16/26737/will-100-tari...

[3] - https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/us-loss-will-be-indi...

[4] - https://www.reuters.com/world/india/trump-visa-curbs-push-us...

[5] - https://www.livemint.com/news/exxonmobil-chevron-lng-india-g...

[6] - https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-likely-finalise-qa...

[7] - https://corporate.exxonmobil.com/locations/qatar/economic-de...

[8] - https://governor.iowa.gov/press-release/2025-09-16/gov-reyno...

[9] - https://www.thegazette.com/agriculture/grassley-iowa-soybean...