A fresh wave of hostility is emanating from the Trump camp—25 per cent tariffs on India, mocking jibes about “Pakistani oil", the taunt that India’s economy is “dead", and a threat that India and Russia can sink together. This messaging signals a deeper frustration within the Trump team over India’s refusal to bend.

Trump’s tariff attack reeks of sour grapes. India has proven to be a tough negotiator, clear in its red lines and unwilling to compromise on core interests. Trump’s tactics of shifting goalposts, last-minute bait-and-switches, and playing the bully have hit a wall.

The tariff announcement came just as India successfully launched NISAR, the largest joint mission between ISRO and NASA. Instead of celebrating a milestone in India-US cooperation, Trump responded with a blistering blow. The move was not without precedent; similar tactics were used with Japan and the EU. But the sudden pivot to threatening to penalise India for its oil trade with Russia while having praised and sweet-talked Putin throughout his own campaign and after marks a particularly cynical turn.

By mockingly offering “Pakistani oil" after making a shoddy deal with Pakistan to drill out its oil reserves, and branding India as a “dead economy", Trump has crossed a diplomatic redline. He seems determined to bait India into a bad deal. But New Delhi hasn’t taken the bait. Trump has fundamentally misread India—from claiming he resolved the India-Pakistan conflict to underestimating India’s economic trajectory. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it clear in Parliament: no foreign leader advised him to “stop the war". That statement closed the door on Trump’s attempt to insert himself into South Asia’s conflict dynamics.

As for India’s economy: far from “dead", it is the world’s fastest-growing major economy and the fourth largest overall. Trade with the US alone stands at $132 billion, with India exporting $77.5 billion and the US exporting almost $55 billion, as much as its exports to Germany, in the last fiscal year. When Trump claims the US does “very little business" with India, the numbers prove otherwise.

With such erratic and irresponsible behaviour, Trump has effectively vetoed the spirit of India-US ties.........

© News18