The abrupt cancellation of US trade negotiators’ planned visit to New Delhi from 25 to 29 August, just days before punitive tariffs were to take effect, marks a pivotal moment in US-India relations. Hopes for a breakthrough or even a temporary respite vanished overnight. What should alarm us most isn’t the tariff hike to 50 per cent ~ though that is severe ~ but the clear signal that economic coercion is being wielded as diplomacy.

India finds itself in the crosshairs over its continued purchase of discounted Russian oil, an understandable pragmatic choice. Our energy needs and access to affordable fuel ~ a matter of national interest – should not be overshadowed by geopolitical posturing. Western economies, including the US and EU, continue their own imports from Russia, yet India is singled out. This isn’t just inequitable ~ it’s perilously hypocritical. The US’s stubborn insistence that India open its farm and dairy sectors and abandon energy partnerships is........

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