By: Simran Sodhi, Guest Author, GSDN
The Trump 2.0 Presidency, most in India thought, would be an easy one for India. After all, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the United States President Donald Trump called each other ‘good friends’ and seemed to share a great personal equation. Modi was also among the first of the world leaders who visited Washington DC soon after Trump took charge in January this year. Modi’s February visit to the United States seemed to then indicate that both leaders were picking up from where they had last left. But since then something seems to have gone amiss in this relationship with Trump’s almost daily tirades against India. It would be fair to say that at this point the India-US relationship seems to be at its lowest in the last two decades or more.
The recent announcement where the United States has slapped India with a 50 percent tariff, the highest among all countries so far, will ensure that the India-US relationship goes into a sharp nose-dive. Brazil is the only other country today facing tariffs as high as India’s. New Delhi responded sharply to this latest onslaught by Trump and pointed out that the tariffs are “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable” and said its imports of Russian oil is based on its objective of securing the energy needs of its nation of 1.4 billion people. But the damage to the relationship is now a done deal.
If one was to try and make sense of how it has all come to this, it would be fair to state that Trump seems irked with India. And there are many theories as to what has upset the US President. Many believe that not giving Trump credit for the ceasefire between India and Pakistan during Op Sindoor has upset him. India has been quite clear that no third country was involved in the ceasefire between India and Pakistan following four days of conflict in May this year. It is important to point out here that it was actually the US President who first announced the ceasefire in a post on social media and claimed credit for it. He has since then taken credit for it almost 28 times. Pakistan was quick to thank him and also went on to nominate Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize. India diplomatically maintained that no third country was involved in this. Many have since argued that India should try and play up to Trump’s ego and maybe give him the headlines and attention he craves. But that is hard for India to do given the domestic sensitivities when it comes to Pakistan; and Pakistan-sponsored cross border terrorism.
Now Trump has decided to ‘weaponize’ tariffs against India and much of the world. And if that was not enough, Trump has now dragged Russia into the row by pointing out how India’s purchase of Russian oil has in a way funded the Ukraine war.
In his latest move, Trump has raised by 25 per cent the tariffs on India as a punishment over its purchases of cheap Russian oil, which today account for one-third of its imported oil. So in effect India today faces 50 per cent tariffs, one of the highest the US has imposed on any country so far.
“They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine,” he said in a post to his Truth Social network recently. He also accused India of selling Russian oil “on the Open Market for big profits”. In a previous social media post, he went on to refer to both Russia and India as ‘dead economies”.
These almost daily comments have of course upset many in India and there has been a fierce debate on how to deal with Trump and his constant and rather insulting remarks. Some have suggested that perhaps India can assuage his ego a little and give in to his demands to soften his stance. But the majority opinion in India seems to be clear that India must push back and Trump’s behaviour should not be tolerated.
After showing considerable restrain, India’s Foreign Ministry had issued a statement 4 August that was clearly a push back against Trump and his various allegations. It was rather strongly worded and for once minced no words about the hypocrisy being displayed by both the US and the European Union with regards to Russia. “India has been targeted by the United States and the European Union for importing oil from Russia after the commencement of the Ukraine conflict. In fact, India began importing from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict. The United States at that time actively encouraged such imports by India for strengthening global energy markets stability,” said the statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The MEA statement also pointed out that, “In this background, the targeting of India is unjustified and unreasonable. Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security.”
In the end, what we are now looking at is a bilateral relationship that has hit its lowest. India has decided to stand up and push back at Trump, who is going overboard with his penalties in the form of tariffs. This will push India to seek conciliation with China even as the US moves closer to Pakistan. The coming weeks will now tell whether the India-US relationship is likely to worsen or start repairing.
About the Author
Simran Sodhi is a Delhi-based journalist and foreign affairs analyst. She holds a Masters in International Relations from the American University in Washington DC. In 2009, her book ‘Piercing the Heart- Untold Stories of 26/11’ was published. She has written for a number of leading national and international publications. She tweets at @Simransodhi9
