Donald Trump, Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping
India’s President Donald Trump did not like India to buy oil from Russia. Trump directly accused India of funding Russia, giving further boost to the ongoing war in Ukraine. In response to this, he increased the tariff imposed on India from 25% to 50%. This new tax has also been implemented from 27 August. This decision has created a new financial problem for India.
But the real question is, when China is buying more oil than India from Russia, then why did there not be any concrete action on it? Does Trump have any kind of fear from China? Or are they considering India as an easy target? There are many questions which are arising about Trump’s foreign policy. Come, let’s try to understand it in detail.
Soft on China, hot on India ..
Statistics show that China is far ahead of India in buying oil from Russia. In 2024, China bought about 109 million tonnes of oil from Russia, which is about 20% of its total energy needs. At the same time, India imported 88 million tonnes of oil. Despite this, Trump did not punish China. On the contrary, they have been given 90 days’ time. Not only this, when it came to any strict economic action on China, the US administration tried to avoid it clearly. There are not just business interests behind the softening of Trump, but also strategic needs. China is the largest producer and processor of rare meanings in the world, on which the American tech and defense industries depend to a great extent.
Apart from this, there is a big bilateral trade between the US and China. Companies like Apple, Walmart, General Motors ask for a large -scale raw materials and cheap products from China. In such a situation, taking strict action on China is a possibility of inflation and chaos in the supply chain, which can harm both American consumers and companies. Trump has recently shown softening towards China. He allowed Nvidia to sell the chip to China and also lifted some restrictions on the semiconductor, which is the old demand for China.
US Finance Minister Scott Besant directly accused India that it was buying cheaper oil from Russia and selling it to other countries in the form of products. According to him, India’s oil import from Russia was less than 1% before the war, but now it has increased to 42%. Besant says that India is playing the role of an intermediary and this is indirectly benefiting Russia. On the basis of this, the Trump administration increased the tariff hit on India.
Trump threatened to put 200% tariff to China
Will such strict steps be taken on China?
Recently, US President Donald Trump made a big statement about China. He said that the relationship between America and China can be better, but if the situation worsens, then America has options from which it can completely ruin China. However, he made it clear that he has no such intention. They want everything to go peacefully and the trade between the two countries remains balanced. Trump also showed a tough stand on China’s rare economy. He said that if China stops the supply of necessary magnets to the US, then the US may have to impose tariffs (import duty) on them under compulsion.
Trump also told that he has recently talked to Chinese President Xi Jinping and talks between the two countries are going on continuously. He also indicated that he could visit China soon. Trump said, we want to maintain good relations with China. We have very strong options, but I do not want to use them. If done, China will suffer heavy losses.
At the same time, when America’s Vice President J.D. Vance was asked whether a strict step like India would be taken on China, then he refused to say anything on it. He only said that “China’s case is more complicated”. Apart from this, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also warned that if the pressure on China was increased on the purchase of Russian oil, it could increase the prices of oil all over the world. He says that China refines oil and sells oil worldwide, and if it is pressurized, it will directly affect America.
PM Modi and US President Trump
Are Trump taking India lightly?
The US has implemented a total of 50% tariff from Wednesday, 27 August. Negotiations between India and America were definitely going on, but no concrete result was found. Now there are some Indian goods that will have to pay 50% tax on sending America. Now the question arises, is Trump taking India lightly? The direct answer to this is no.
Trump knows well that if he spoils relations with India, then America will be harmed by America. But Trump’s strategy is that he wants to show the world that if anyone does not accept his true friend, then he can get its punishment. Many experts believe that the additional 25% tariff that has been imposed is temporary – that is, it can be removed at any time.
When the trade deal was being discussed between India and America, Prime Minister Modi refused to accept some conditions of Trump. Especially those conditions, through which America wanted entry into the dairy and agricultural sector of India. After this, Trump decided to increase the tax. A report of ‘Economics’ states that if this tariff remains in force for a long time, then America can suffer more loss than India. Experts also say that despite 50% tariffs, its impact will be very limited on India’s economy. Especially the dairy sector of India will be safe from this, which directly employs about 10 crore people.