Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been performing a tricky balancing act—maintaining close partnerships with US President Donald Trump and Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin while insisting his country is a neutral party in the Russia-Ukraine war, to the dismay of Western nations who have sanctioned Moscow.
But now, it seems, Trump has lost his patience—demanding that Modi finally pick a side and using India’s continued purchases of cheap Russian oil as leverage in his trade war.
The conundrum pits Trump and Modi, two nationalist leaders who have often described their friendship in warm terms, increasingly against each other.
On Monday, Trump vowed in an interview with CNBC to “substantially” raise tariffs on India “over the next 24 hours” because it’s still buying Russian oil. It is unclear what the new tariff rate would be, nor is it clear why he is now questioning something that India has done for years. However, the new threat comes after he announced a 25% minimum tariff on Indian goods last week. "Also, they have always purchased the vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and they are Russia’s largest energy buyer, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP the killing in Ukraine—everything is bad!" Last week, Trump wrote on Truth Social. But it's not that easy for Modi. India, the fourth largest economy in the world, has defiantly resisted the Trump administration's efforts to negotiate trade deals with it, claiming that it is being unfairly targeted and that the measure is "unjustified." It made the point that the United States of America and Europe continue to trade with Russia on other products like chemicals and fertilizers. Here’s what you need to know about why India is reluctant to stop buying Russian oil.
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