Hell hath no fury like Donald Trump scorned

Has Donald Trump got it in for India? He's slapped 50% tariffs, he’s suspended trade talks till the tariff dispute is resolved, he says he doesn’t care if India’s “dead economy” sinks and Peter Navarro, his trade advisor, has said India is threatening America’s national security by buying Russian oil.

- Karan Thapar

Worst of all, Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary, has revealed that secondary tariffs on India could increase if Trump's talks with Putin fail. He also wants Europe to impose its own secondary tariffs. Does all of this suggest India has fallen out of America’s favour?

There is a view that Trump is using India to send a message to China and Russia. It's not a comforting one. It means we're collateral damage and he doesn’t really care what happens to us.

On the other hand —and this is equally galling — Trump seems to have fallen in love with Pakistan. He's only imposed 19% tariffs, his government considers Islamabad a “phenomenal partner” in the fight against counter-terrorism — last week it lauded Pakistan's “continued successes in containing terrorist entities” — he invited Field Marshal Asim Munir for lunch and wants to help Pakistan prospect for oil. In fact, ‘Trump has taunted India with the tease that Pakistan could one day sell oil to Delhi. So, is Pakistan the new belle of the ball?