US President Donald Trump’s apparent ‘trade war’ has been pushing the Global South to come closer, unite and forge a path of collective spirit, as the recent meeting at the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) Summit saw some of the most powerful leaders come together under one roof.
Trump’s latest claim states that though Indian diaspora has offered a cut on the tariffs to practically zero for US Goods, but the time has been running out due to prolonged talks and no conclusive decision reached so far. US President Donald Trump on Monday termed the India-US trade equation a “one sided disaster”. He pointed towards India’s trade with Russia, again, in his latest tirade after his administration imposed a massive 50% tariff rate on India.
His apparent reference to the stalled talks between the two sides for a trade deal and India’s alleged offer to cut duties did not yield a response from the Modi government immediately. Trump’s big claim comes barely a week after the American treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, flagged the slow pace of the trade deal talks despite an early start in April.
Bessent listed this, along with India’s incessant oil purchase from Russia, amongst the major reasons for the tariffs as “penalty”. PM Narendra Modi’s government has consistently been questioning the US logic and pushing back on certain red lines in the trade talks, such as protecting India’s farmers from an influx of US produce.
US officials, meanwhile, seek to pressure and pummel India with numbers and jibes, including one by Trump’s top aide Peter Navarro: that “Brahmin oil refiners were profiteering by reselling Russian oil”.
However, PM Modi meanwhile, made an eastward trip to meet the counterparts from Japan and China, and underlined the decades-long ties with Russia, in a possible realignment of global trade forces – a move that will certainly push White House to think better.
In 2024, India had imported US goods worth $41.5 billion, while it exported worth $87.3 billion to the US. This led to a trade surplus of almost $45.8 billion in India’s favour, but in the first six months of 2025, Indian exports to the US were at $56.3 billion, while it imported good worth $22.1 billion.
Trump noted that India buys “most of its oil and military products from Russia, very little from the United States, referring to the crude oil factor as the cause for a 25% penalty, which is part of the total 50% tariffs imposed on most Indian products. The forecasts suggest Indian exports to the US may decline dramatically —from around $87 billion in 2024 to about $50 billion by 2026 — with a potential GDP impact of about 1% and significant job losses.
Helene Elliott is the senior reporter for News Raise. She covers Science news. She also has a keen interest in photojournalism. Helene holds a nomination for the prestigious Red Smith Award. She is married to author Dennis D’Agostino, a former publicist with the New York Mets.
