Trump's Sharp India Criticism on Tariffs; Russia Oil Pushes Modi into a Corner

Strain in US-India ties a challenge for Indian PM, who faces domestic pressure

- Nirmala Ganapathy

NEW DELHI - Any expectation of the camaraderie that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi enjoyed with US President Donald Trump during the latter's first term in office — united in part over the common threat of China — has all but evaporated.

India underestimated just how transactional Mr Trump would be in his second term in power, as he has made little distinction between friends and adversaries.

Ties have unpredictably and quickly gone south as Mr Trump has torn into India over its longstanding ties with Russia and the slow pace of negotiations for an India-US trade deal.

The strain in US-India ties is a challenge for Mr Modi, who also faces domestic calls not to cave in to Mr Trump's demands on trade and oil imports from Russia.

Mr Trump's vow to "substantially raise" tariffs on Indian exports to the US from the already substantial 25 per cent because of New Delhi's Russian oil imports is an indication of his administration's priorities in achieving broader geopolitical goals, say analysts.

"This (oil sanctions) is obviously a pressure tactic the US is using on Russia to get an outcome of its choice in the Ukraine war. We are collateral damage," Mr Ashok Malik, a partner at business consultancy The Asia Group, told The Straits Times.

Mr Trump came into power promising he would end the war in Ukraine on his first day in office. But a long-term ceasefire has not materialised, and Russia has instead intensified its strikes on Ukraine, much to Mr Trump's frustration.

INDIA-RUSSIA-U.S. NEXUS

"India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian oil, they are then, for much of the oil purchased, selling it on the open market for big profits," Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Aug 4.

"They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian war machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the tariff paid by India to the USA."