The renowned economist and Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs speaks on US governance, cautions India on US ties
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, April 8, 2025: In a pointed comparison, Jeffrey D. Sachs, renowned economist and Columbia University professor, said, “If we had the Indian Supreme Court, I would not have worried frankly. The Indian Supreme Court is pretty activist—it would strike this down as an enormous presidential overreach. I don’t know about our Supreme Court.”
Speaking at the Rising Bharat Summit 2025, Sachs sharply criticised the growing concentration of power in the hands of the US President and warned that America is slipping into one-man rule. Referring to former President Donald Trump’s use of emergency powers, he said, “The President of the US declared an emergency. Now this is interesting, he claims that he can declare an emergency and then govern without law and just govern with decree.”
Sachs added, “Now what he calls an emergency is anything that Donald Trump wants to call an emergency. So he calls our trade deficit an emergency. Well, no, it has been around for 20 some years, it has deep economic causes. It is not something that one person should decide and then override the laws of the land in an emergency decree.”
He warned that such actions have left the US “profoundly destabilised”, and questioned whether democratic institutions would respond: “We don’t know whether the courts will be able to enforce a judgment that these actions are illegal, which they plainly are… or whether Congress will wake up and say, hey, we have a rule under Article 1, Section 8 of the US Constitution, which says very explicitly that the right to levy duties belongs only to the Congress, not to the President.”
The professor did not mince words, stating, “We don’t know at this moment if the US is a one-person rule or a democracy with checks and balances. Maybe we will have a coup now, we don't know. Americans voted for Trump to be ruled as per constitution, not as per decree.”On the foreign policy front, Sachs advised India to remain cautious about its strategic alignment with the US. “American friendships have ended up destroying countries. India should be careful, there is no alliance. India is too big for alliance. Being the most populous country, India needs to take care of its relations,” he said.
Sachs alleged that Washington seeks to use India as a counterweight to China: “US wants to use India to beat up China. Don’t play the American game is my advice. US foreign policy is divide and rule for every country in the world. India is too big for the US game. US wants India to bash China, to be part of QUAD.”
He added, “Everyone should be puzzled about what's going on in Washington. The answer is nobody knows. We are in a one-man show right now. How does one person change the whole world trade system? It was literally an executive order.”Despite his sharp critique of American politics, Sachs praised India’s development trajectory. “India is doing wonderfully, and it doesn't surprise me, because I've watched India in its take-off, and I've been privileged to be coming to India now for 46 years. So I've watched India's remarkable achievements. For me, it's a very vivid story.”
He predicted that India would soon overtake the US to become the world’s second-largest economy. “India will become the second largest economy in the world overtaking the US in 10–15 years.”
Commenting on America’s reaction to this shift, Sachs said, “The US is in kind of a neurotic reaction—the neurosis is that the US expected to be number one always. China ruptured that illusion and therefore they hate China. And they will come to resent India as India overtakes US.”
He urged India and China to focus on cooperation: “India and China have their own issues. But settle them, because between the two of them, they are 40% of the world population. And they could actually help to run a very decent world together. India should not get pulled into US's game.”
