Bhim Bhurtel
US President Donald Trump’s tariff war has sent shockwaves across the global economy, but no leader has felt its sting more keenly than India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Caught in a high-stakes geopolitical bind, India is grappling with an existential dilemma: balancing its vital economic ties with China against the allure of the American market.
On April 2, 2025, the Trump administration slapped a 26% “reciprocal” tariff on Indian goods, forcing New Delhi into fraught negotiations to preserve access to the American market, its largest export destination.
Despite the Indian media’s portrayal of Modi as a “Vishwaguru” (world leader) and indomitable strongman, India’s response has betrayed a surprising deference, seen in fast and big import duty cuts on Harley-Davidson motorbikes and American-made bourbon whiskey amid a broad pledge to tear down trade barriers. New Delhi has also announced plans to buy more US energy and defense products in a bid to placate Trump.
Sensing the weakness, the Trump team has leveraged a 90-day reprieve on the tariffs to press India into a broader American strategy to isolate China economically and strategically. As part of this diplomatic offensive, US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Delhi on April 22 for a high-profile four-day visit.
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