Donald Trump’s latest outburst against India is naked coercive diplomacy dressed up as trade policy. Within days of claiming he “doesn’t care” about India’s ties with Russia, the American President has
begun threatening sanctions and punitive tariffs on India – all while mocking our economy as “dead.” Donald Trump claims India is funding Russia’s “war machine.” On the surface, this may appear to the layman non-Indian as Trump going the extra mile to protect Ukrainian sovereignty. However, scratch this surface and one realises that Donald Trump is using the Ukraine war bogey to arm-twist India into abandoning its strategic autonomy and becoming another American satellite state.
But Trump has fundamentally miscalculated. This is India, not some pliant client regime that buckles under Washington’s economic blackmail.
Western Hypocrisy Exposed
Monday evening, the Ministry of External Affairs delivered a surgical strike on American duplicity. While Trump pontificates about India’s Russian oil purchases, his own country continues importing uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear industry, palladium for electric vehicles, fertilisers, and chemicals from Moscow. The European Union — America’s closest “ally” — recorded a staggering €67.5 billion in goods trade with Russia in 2024, plus €17.2 billion in services. European LNG imports from Russia hit a record 16.5 million tonnes in 2024, surpassing even 2022 levels. All such figures were quoted by the MEA in its combative statement which caught the world’s attention for the manner in which it exposed American duplicity.
Donald Trump’s conspicuous silence on his country’s continuing trade ties with Russia has hardly been missed by anyone in India. In fact, when asked by a journalist what his response to India’s statement was, he could muster very few words, saying, “I don’t know.”
While Trump sets the Indo-US relationship on fire, he remains a mute spectator when it comes to Europe, or even China’s trade with Russia. Does Trump have the courage to sanction American and European companies that continue to profit from Russian energy? The silence is deafening because the truth is inconvenient: America’s rage isn’t about Ukraine, but about control in the Indian Subcontinent.
The Real Game: Economic Coercion
Trump’s strategy follows the well-worn American playbook of coercive diplomacy. First, create artificial moral outrage. Then deploy economic weapons. Finally, demand capitulation disguised as “partnership.” The world has seen this script play out on more occasions than one. Now, it is India’s turn to be lectured by a country that pioneered sanctions as statecraft and tariffs as threats.
The F-35 offer dangled before Prime Minister Modi in February was essentially a bait. When India rightfully declined this overpriced military hardware that would make us dependent on American maintenance, spare parts, and operational approval, Trump’s mask slipped. The “strategic partnership” rhetoric gave way to trade war threats and economic intimidation.
This is the American way: friendship when you comply, punishment when you don’t.
India’s Strategic Calculations
Trump’s fundamental error lies in misunderstanding India’s strategic autonomy. Our foreign policy isn’t driven by sentiment or ideology—it’s anchored in national interest and civilisational wisdom. When traditional oil suppliers diverted their exports to Europe after the Ukraine conflict began, India adapted. When the United States itself encouraged these purchases to stabilise global energy markets, we obliged.
India’s oil imports from Russia serve 1.4 billion people who deserve affordable energy. This isn’t war profiteering—it’s responsible governance. Unlike Europe’s luxury consumption of Russian energy, India’s purchases are driven by vital national necessity.
Behind Trump’s trade tantrums lies a deeper strategic miscalculation. America wants India as a counterweight to China while simultaneously weakening India’s defence capabilities. The timing isn’t coincidental — as India faces growing threats from a multi-front scenario involving China, Pakistan and others, Trump demands we abandon our most reliable defence partner, Russia.
India currently operates over 270 Russian Su-30MKI fighters and has also purchased five S-400 air defence systems. These systems proved their worth during Operation Sindoor, successfully intercepting hundreds of Pakistani drones and missiles. Russia offers technology transfer, source code access, and integration flexibility that no Western supplier provides. The F-35, by contrast, comes with built-in restrictions, NATO-only integration, and American operational oversight.
Trump’s demand that India abandon its proven defense partnership with Russia while facing existential threats exposes the hollowness of American assurances. When push comes to shove, will American weapons arrive without strings attached? Will US technology transfers be unconditional? The answer is written in decades of American arms embargoes, technology denials, and conditional support.
India’s Response: Principled Defiance
The MEA’s scorching response reflects India’s diplomatic maturity. Unlike previous eras when India might have sought accommodation with American pressure, today’s India calls out hypocrisy by name. When Trump threatens “substantial” tariff increases, India calmly notes that it “will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security”.
The message from New Delhi is loud and clear. India will not be bullied into submission by a President who confuses bluster with diplomacy. Our economy isn’t “dead”—it’s the world’s fastest-growing major economy, projected to become the third-largest globally.
Trump’s coercive diplomacy reveals more about American insecurities than Indian vulnerabilities. A confident superpower does not threaten allies with economic warfare. A secure alliance leader does not demand exclusive loyalty from partners facing existential threats. However, the fact is that Donald Trump remains a highly insecure leader at his core. Hence, his desire to secure a win against India by forcing New Delhi to bend the knee. Unfortunately for him, India has no plan to take the easy way out. Submission is easy, but standing up to a bully when it matters most is what the world will remember in the times to come.
India’s strategic autonomy should not be confused as anti-American. We will engage with Washington where interests align, resist where they diverge, and maintain independent decision-making always. This approach has served India well through the Non-Aligned Movement, the Cold War’s end, and the rise of multipolarity. It will serve us well through Trump’s tantrums too.
The Bottom Line
Donald Trump can keep his tariffs, sanctions, and threats. India has faced worse from more dangerous adversaries and emerged stronger. We’ve built our nation on principles, not pressure. We’ve grown our economy through innovation, not intimidation. We’ve secured our borders through strategic partnerships, not strategic subservience.
Trump wants India to choose between America and our national interests. That’s not a choice, but an insult. India will buy oil where it’s cheapest, weapons where they’re most effective, and partnerships where they’re most beneficial. American approval is neither sought nor required. If the US wants to compete for a share in India’s oil import basket, Donald Trump should offer New Delhi crude at prices cheaper than Russia. Washington should focus less on bullying India and instead try to ensure its oil is more competitively priced in global markets.
This is India you’re talking to, Mr President. We don’t yield to pressure. We don’t follow diktats. We don’t serve others’ interests. Try to remember that the next time you confuse friendship with subordination. This relationship works both ways, or it doesn’t work at all.
Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
