CFR International Affairs Fellow, India Gateway House
Nina Robinson is the 2025-2026 recipient of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) International Affairs Fellowship in India and will complete her fellowship under the guide of Ms. Manjeet Kripalani, Executive Director at Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations in Mumbai. Prior to being selected as the CFR IAF in India, Nina worked in the U.S. government as a foreign policy expert, serving as the Senior India Desk Officer at the U.S. Agency for International Development and the South Asia desk officer with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), covering India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan, and Nepal. She also covered Taiwan and Korea for a stint and backfilled for countries such as Australia and New Zealand.
Nina received a dual Master’s in Asian Studies and Diplomacy and International Relations from Seton Hall University in 2016. During her Master’s Program, she also received a certificate in Chinese language and cultural studies from Peking University in China. She received a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Lincoln University of Pennsylvania.
While Nina is passionate about the world of international affairs, she also strives to serve those in her community in Washington, D.C. She was appointed Chair of the D.C. Commission for Women in April 2024, working in conjunction with the Mayor’s Office on Women’s Policy and Initiatives, to enhance the quality of life for women and youth within the District of Columbia.
The new U.S. Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, has much to do – and reviving high school exchange programmes stalled due to funding shortages is one important task. Students are a significant element of the bilateral: 300,000 Indian students study in the U.S., but barely 1% of that comprises U.S. students in India. The exchange programmes can bridge the gap - and India can pick up some of the tab.
Under U.S. President Donald Trump’s reciprocal trade policy, the original five BRICS member countries account for the highest U.S. tariffs globally. India and Brazil are facing the highest tariffs of 50%, while China follows with a tariff of 34%, down from 145% earlier in the year. This infographic details the U.S. reciprocal tariff rates for each BRICS+ member and the sectors that are impacted.
Who makes, imposes, administers and collects U.S. tariffs? The U.S. Congress, but for the last several decades, it has been at the discretion of the U.S. President, who has been given tariff-setting authority. Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 1977, U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed reciprocal and universal tariffs on over 60 countries.
