Modi Can't Afford a War of Words With Trump

India should not let Russian oil jeopardise country's wider economic interests.

- Andy Mukherjee

What began as a US-China trade war has suddenly turned into an open and ugly confrontation between Washington and New Delhi. US President Donald Trump has escalated the conflict, but the onus for defusing it is squarely on India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi — and both sides know it.

With two days to go before the US President's reciprocal trade taxes come into effect, he's doubling down on his threat to impose a "substantially higher" tariff on India than the 25 per cent already announced.

The White House is accusing the most-populous nation of funding Russian President Vladimir Putin's war machine in Ukraine by buying Russian oil, a characterisation that the Indian Prime Minister has decided to contest. "The targeting of India is unjustified and unreasonable," Mr Modi's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Aug 4. Affordable energy costs for Indian consumers are a "vital national compulsion".

What's puzzling about this game of chicken is this: Having previously ignored much bigger insults — such as Mr Trump's repeated claims of having brokered a ceasefire in New Delhi's military stand-off with Islamabad — why is Mr Modi invoking wounded national pride at the last minute? Does this mean that India has given up any hope of a trade deal with the US?