It’s Wednesday morning, February 4, 2026, and the mood in Washington DC has shifted from “trade war” to “strategic huddle.” Just 24 hours after the Trump-Modi trade deal broke the internet, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to pivot from tariffs to the real meat of the 2026 agenda: Critical Minerals and Nuclear Energy.
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The thing is, the 18% tariff was just the entry ticket. Now, the two nations are sitting down to redraw the map of global supply chains. Or nothing.
The Washington “Deep Dive”: Field Notes
It’s an ongoing situation where the “America First” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat” ideologies are finally finding a common enemy—supply chain vulnerability. Here’s the ground reality from the Jaishankar-Rubio meeting:
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The Minerals “Gordian Knot”: Today, Jaishankar is participating in the Critical Minerals Ministerial, a 50-nation summit hosted by Rubio. The goal? A formal framework for India and the US to co-mine and process lithium, cobalt, and rare earths. Let’s be real—this is a direct move to bypass China’s 80% market dominance. And then the “Pax Silica” invitation followed.
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Nuclear & Defense Realignment: Jaishankar explicitly mentioned “nuclear” and “defence” facets in his post-meeting briefing. With India shifting away from Russian energy, we’re seeing a massive push for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and GE jet engine co-production. Those too.
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The Quad “Pulse Check”: Rubio and Jaishankar re-committed to the Quad, framing a “prosperous Indo-Pacific” as the ultimate insurance policy. The thing is, while the trade deal is transactional, the Quad is becoming the institutional spine of the relationship.
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Bessent’s Economic Math: Jaishankar also met the new US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent. They’re working on the “nuts and bolts” of the $500 billion trade target. And here’s the kicker—it’s not just about India buying US coal; it’s about US capital funding Indian semiconductor plants. Or nothing.
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Strategic Partnership Pillars (Feb 2026)
| Pillar | Focus Areas | Why it Matters |
| Critical Minerals | Lithium, Cobalt, Processing hubs. | Securing EV and Chip supply chains. |
| Nuclear Energy | SMRs, Civil Nuclear civil integration. | Decarbonizing while ditching Russian oil. |
| Trade | 18% Reciprocal Tariff, $500B Goal. | Replacing China as the primary US source. |
| Security | Quad, Defense Technology (iCET). | Maintaining the “Indo-Pacific” balance. |
And Here’s the Kicker…
The US is currently creating a 10 billion Strategic Mineral Reserve, modeled after the Petroleum Reserve. The thing is, they want India to be the primary processing partner for this cache. Those too. This means Indian firms like Vedanta or Adani could soon be managing mineral hubs that fuel the entire US tech sector.
One side comment—the Congress party is calling this a “surrender” because of the Russian oil pivot. But for Jaishankar, it’s clearly about “multialignment.” Authentic, but definitely leaning harder toward the West this week. It’s an ongoing situation. Or nothing.
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End…
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