Additional 25 percent tariff slapped on India by Trump
While there is obvious overlap between Trump’s escalating threats targeting Russia and his explicit warnings about India’s energy purchases, the dispute with the world’s fourth-largest economy is specific to the trade talks, the officials say.
For the Trump administration, that has created leverage as frustration with Putin’s refusal to come to the table has dashed Trump’s envisioned quick end to the three-plus year conflict.
(Politics and geo-strategic battle of wits. It's no longer relevant to talk of terror or being a strategic soulmate. The US is concerned about India's growing image as a trade surplus nation.)
Did India bank a lot on the US and its so-called 'friendship' ?
India had come to view the US as one of its strongest and most reliable partners, united by cooperation on regional security to defence and also intelligence and technology sharing.
Americans are ruthless and treat being 'selfish' as being practical.
Team Modi might have been acting smart.
The US now says, India is "taking advantage of global sanctions" by becoming a key buyer of discounted oil from Russia.
But India should not be apologetic about it.
Narendra Modi likes to display 'independent' road map of India's foreign policy; and there is nothing wrong in it.
India is no longer a 'junior partner' seeking approval from the White House or Washington. In this multi-polar world; the US is losing out some of its taken for granted strengths.
This is to India's advantage as it is to advantage for countries such as Brazil and also for BRICS as a bloc.
(February 24, 2020 :::: Donald Trump makes first visit to India )
But Narendra Modi should now stop depending so much on bear hug diplomacy. It's all humbug.
No diplomacy or strategic interests should be tied to personal friends of individual leaders.
If Donald Trump is shifting towards hard realism and even preferring a non-dependable and weak economy such as Pakistan; India must grow up to challenges of the changing times.
Donald Trump's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said : "I don't know what's going to happen. It will be up to India...India came to the table early. They have been slow rolling things. So I think that the President, the whole trade team, has been frustrated with them".
India has remained tough. Responding to US President's threats of higher tariff; India's foreign ministry said -
"...it is revealing that the very nations criticizing India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia. Unlike our case, such trade is not even a vital national compulsion.
The European Union in 2024 had a bilateral trade of Euro 67.5 billion in goods with Russia. In addition, it had trade in services estimated at Euro 17.2 billion in 2023. This is significantly more than India’s total trade with Russia that year or subsequently.
European imports of LNG in 2024, in fact, reached a record 16.5mn tonnes, surpassing the last record of 15.21mn tonnes in 2022".
On September 24, 2021, President Joe Biden hosted Prime Minister Modi at the White House alongside the prime ministers of Australia and Japan for the first in-person leaders’ summit of the informal security dialogue known as the Quad.
The leaders agreed to coordinate their strategic goals, including by donating more than one billion COVID-19 vaccines globally and forming a low-carbon shipping network. A year earlier, the group convened their largest joint military exercise in a decade amid heightened regional tensions with China.
Now, can all that be sacrificed at the altar of one man's fancies?
"Don’t give China a pass and burn a relationship with a strong ally like India," says Nikki Haley, a Republican and also a former US envoy to the UN.
Much to the contradiction of what was expected; the year 2025 is now all about strategic shocks.
The refrain is bear-hug has to make way. The refrain also is that bromance and per chemistry are over.
Some would say Donald Trump plays by his calculus and permutation and combination. Narendra Modi will have to be a little more pragmatic.
It has to use other tools of diplomacy vis-a-vis American President's tariffs.
India is showing strong resilience to bullying diplomacy of the US President. It's a fact of life that a united 'geopolitical' compulsion and ambition to counterbalance the power of China had brought India and the US 'so close together'.
Donald Trump's bullying is equally frustrating for India. Yet New Delhi did not fail to notice that China – the big buyer of sanctioned Russian oil, has got a special discount and not received similar threats.
Even Turkey has been lucky.
India has given a frosty response to Americans.
After Trump told reporters he had heard India would “no longer” be buying Russian oil, the President of the world's most powerful nation was told that there would be no change in India's policy vis-a-vis Russian oil.
So far Narendra Modi has conducted himself in a dignified manner despite provocation by the immaturity of Rahul Gandhi. And rightly so. In contrast, Trump has said Russia and India "can take their dead economies down together".
More than sounding vulgar and undiplomatic. Trump has said falsehood. Modi has countered this well by stating that India's economy is strong enough and would touch the Rank No 3 soon. It is time India gets more realistic.
One thing is certain, Trump will never do friendship over his other concerns.
Those defending Trump will say he is "more loyal" to the US balance sheet. And here, India is a trade surplus machine. He is only playing the repairing boy !!
In these complex and challenging times, BJP lawmaker from Odisha Baijayant (Jay) Panda rightly invoked Henry Kissinger's quote.
He shared Kissinger's quote -- "To be an enemy of America can be dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal" -- calling it a "timeless statement".
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| Biden and Namo :: New Delhi G-20 Summit |
In June 2016; the United States under a different regime had christened Prime Minister Modi's vision of Indo-US ties as 'The Modi doctrine'.
The interpretation was Modi has been able to break from India's past hesitation in dealing with the US and also turned the diplomatic occasion into a great "personal victory" for Modi as well.
Basically Modi addressed three barriers - personal, ideological and institutional. There was a hesitation about engaging with Modi.
The US was disinclined also because they preferred India merely as an ally not an autonomous partner. Washington was not clear about institutional engagement.
The Americans had ideological differences with India. But all these were knocked off.
The single most achievement of the Modi government in foreign policy was the ability to change a global perception that India's foreign policy is generally non-committal and passive.
In fact, in June 2016 - Biju Janata Dal floor leader in Lok Sabha Bhartruhari Mahtab (now a BJP MP) had endorsed this sentiment.
"Building up strong Indo-US ties has been an agenda for the Indian government since the time of Rajiv Gandhi.
But there always was some hesitation. To an extent this hesitation prevailed during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime despite Jaswant Singh and Strobe Talbott (former US Secretary of State). But now that hesitation is gone," Mahtab had told this blogger.
Move over, be realistic. In 2025 - things are almost back to square one.
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