Explained: India’s decision to hire second lobbying firm in US and its connection to Trump

As the clock counts down to the imposition of a 50 per cent tariff rate on Indian imports, India is seeking all the help it can to avert further tensions with the United States of America.

The Indian Embassy in Washington, DC has hired a second lobbying firm to engage with the President Donald Trump-led administration. While it is not unusual for foreign countries to hire more than one lobbying firm, what makes this appointment notable is that it has ties to US President Donald Trump.

India’s hires second lobbying firm

Earlier this month, the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC signed on Mercury Public Affairs as a part of lobbying efforts for three months. According to recent filings with the US Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), the agreement between Mercury and the Indian Embassy runs from mid-August to mid-November 2025.

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The filing adds, “Consultant will provide strategic government relations and communications services (“services”) to client (Embassy of India) consistent with the terms and parameters of the agreement as follows: Federal government relations, strategic media relations, a digital audit, digital strategy consulting and paid advertising.”

For their services, Mercury will be paid $75,000 (Rs 65.67 lakh) per month. That’s a paltry sum compared to the $1.8 million (Rs 15.7 crore) India paying to the other lobbying firm, SHW Partners LLC.

Mercury has a long history and effective history of lobbying. Earlier this year, the firm disclosed a contract with the Embassy of Denmark, which opposed Trump’s push to take control of its self-ruling territory of Greenland. Moreover, Mercury has represented several Chinese companies targeted by Trump.

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In 2018, Mercury lobbied for the US arm of Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co, targeted by the US over its work on surveillance projects in the Chinese region of Xinjiang. Mercury has also lobbied on behalf of sanctioned Chinese telecom firm ZTE Corp.

Some news reports even say that the embassies of Ecuador, Armenia, and South Korea have retained the firm.

Lobbying firm with Trump ties

Notably, this firm, Mercury Public Affairs, has a significant Trump connection. The firm has assigned partners David Vitter and Bryan Lanza to represent India. These two individuals are closely linked to the US president.

Firstly, Vitter is a former Republican senator from the state of Louisiana. Registered as a foreign agent, Vitter, has in the past, lobbied on behalf of companies linked to a Russian oligarch with ties to President Vladimir Putin.

Lanza also has ties with Trump. He was deputy communications director for the Trump-Pence campaign in 2016 and later worked with Ohio Senator and now US Vice President JD Vance during his election campaign.

Moreover, Susie Wiles, the current Chief of Staff of President Donald Trump was a co-chair at Mercury Public Affairs from 2022 until last November when she was appointed to her current position in the White House.

India’s lobbying efforts with Washington

India’s hiring of Mercury Public Affairs comes after it initially brought on Jason Miller’s SHW Partners LLC following the heinous Pahalgam terror attack in April. Miller was a major part of Trump’s communications team during the Republican leader’s 2016 presidential campaign. After Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton to become the US president, Miller was appointed as the chief spokesperson for the presidential transition team. He also returned as senior advisor during Trump’s 2020 re-election bid against Joe Biden.

Meanwhile, Pakistan enlisted Trump’s former bodyguard, Keith Schiller, to push its voice forward in the Oval Office. He co-founded consulting firm Javelin Advisors with George Sorial, the Trump Organization’s former compliance chief, in December 2024.

Notably, debt-ridden Islamabad is reportedly shelling out an estimated $600,000 (Rs 5.25 crore) per month on strategic lobbying efforts to gain greater access to the White House, Congress and US government agencies. Of this $600,000, Schiller’s firm is being paid $50,000 (Rs 43.78 lakh) a month.

India’s need for lobbying

The Indian embassy’s appointment of a second lobbying firm comes as ties between India and the US have hit a low, particularly over the stalled negotiations for a bilateral trade deal and Trump’s tariff threats.

Trump and his administration have been increasingly critical of India and its purchase of Russian oil. On August 6, the US president announced that he would be imposing a secondary tariff of 25 per cent, which are set to kick in on August 27. These levies come on top of the 25 per cent tariffs that Washington has already imposed on India, one of the highest for any of its trading partners.

Many of Trump’s officials have also criticised India’s purchase of oil from Russia, claiming this funds Moscow’s war against Ukraine. One such individual, who has been particularly critical of India has been Trump’s tariff guru, Peter Navarro.

Just last week, he accused New Delhi of running a “profiteering scheme” by continuing to import Russian oil. “Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, India virtually bought no Russian oil… It was like almost one per cent of their need. The percentage has now gone up to 35 per cent…They don’t need the oil. It’s a refining profit-sharing scheme. It’s a laundromat for the Kremlin. That’s the reality of that,” Navarro said.

But Trump’s tariffs aren’t the only reason that India is upping its lobbying efforts. According to an Economic Times report, the second hiring comes after criticism in some quarters about New Delhi being outplayed by Pakistan.

In fact, in recent times, Trump appears to be warming up to Pakistan at the expense of India. For instance, Islamabad successfully arranged a meeting between Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and President Trump in June. Moreover, when Trump announced a revision in tariffs for many countries, it was seen that Islamabad was slapped with a 19 per cent tariff, far lesser than India.

Additionally, Trump also announced that Washington has reached a deal with Islamabad to jointly develop the country’s “ massive oil reserves,” in what he described as a major energy partnership.

In such circumstances, it seems prudent for India to boost its lobbying efforts in a bid to protect and ensure that strategic ties with the US don’t wither away.

With inputs from agencies