Tariffs and Trust

Just six months after pledging to double bilateral trade by 2030, US President Donald Trump has slapped India with a combined 50 per cent tariff on all imports – 25 per cent as part of his broad trade overhaul, and a fresh 25 per cent penalty targeting Indian purchases of Russian oil.

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The announcement came via a formal executive order citing national security threats arising from India's continued energy dealings with Moscow.

The language of the order leaves little room for ambiguity.

India's direct or indirect imports of Russian oil, it claims, "undermine US foreign policy" in Ukraine.

But the unprecedented move goes well beyond economic recalibration.

It exposes a new era of transactional foreign policy – where punitive tariffs are not just about deficits or reciprocity but about compelling alignment with Washington's broader geopolitical objectives.

The Indian government has rightly called the measure "unjustified and unreasonable."

After all, it was the redirection of Russian energy to Asian buyers like India that helped stabilise global oil prices following Western sanctions in 2022.