US Removes Social Media Post on India-US Trade Deal Framework Showing PoK & Aksai Chin as Part of India

New Delhi: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has quietly deleted a social media post that included a map of India depicting both Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Aksai Chin as integral parts of Indian territory - a depiction that drew widespread attention and controversy amid the announcement of an interim India-US trade agreement framework.

The original map  shared on X as part of the USTR’s announcement about ongoing trade discussions - showed the entire Jammu & Kashmir region, including Pakistani-administered PoK and the Chinese-controlled Aksai Chin, within India’s borders. This representation differed sharply from long-standing US practice, which typically uses dotted lines or other neutral markings to denote disputed areas on official maps.

However, several days after its publication, the post was removed from the USTR’s account without any official explanation from the agency or the US State Department, prompting speculation about the reasons behind both its original inclusion and its subsequent deletion.

The map was part of the official USTR post detailing the proposed trade agreement, which included tariff reductions on various goods between the two nations. But after days of speculation and debate over the implications of the map’s depiction, the USTR removed the post from its account without issuing a public explanation.

Yet the deletion has raised questions about how Washington navigates sensitive territorial disputes involving India, Pakistan, and China, and whether the map’s release was an accidental oversight in diplomatic communications or an internal disagreement within US agencies over how to handle representations in official posts.

The controversy emerged against the backdrop of an interim trade agreement framework announced by India and the United States, aimed at reducing longstanding tariff barriers and deepening commercial cooperation. Under the framework, the US agreed to lower tariffs on several Indian exports, while India committed to reciprocal reductions on certain US goods - moves seen as important steps in resolving earlier trade tensions between the two economic powers.

Territorial representations, especially in disputed regions like Jammu & Kashmir, remain a core point of national sentiment and international diplomacy. India has long asserted that PoK and Aksai Chin are integral parts of its sovereign territory - a stance it has repeatedly reiterated at global forums and through diplomatic channels.

Although the USTR’s original post was removed without comment, the episode highlights the sensitivity and geopolitical implications of cartographic symbols when linked with major diplomatic developments such as trade agreements.

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