Trump’s Tariff Terrorism against India

Bhabani Shankar Nayak

After failing to bully Chinathrough unfair trade and tariff measures, the US, led by Mr. Trump, is now attempting to pressure India by imposing various measures aimed at weakening its economy. These actions also threaten India’s independent foreign policy, as the US seeks to undermine India for refusing to fall in line with its imperialist strategies of global dominance that envision India as a junior partner. The history of India–US relations shows that the US has consistently acted against India’s national interests. It has never been a truly committed friend of India–or of any other country, for that matter. Instead, it uses other nations as tools to sustain its declining hegemony in global affairs.

From the first decade of independent India to the present day, the US has continued to pursue Cold War–era imperialist politics in Asia, using terrorism and Pakistan as proxies to disrupt peace and progress in the region, while seeking to contain India’s independent and non-aligned foreign policy and development. From the 1962 India-China War to the formation of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), the US has repeatedly devised strategies to build alliances with India–primarily to counter China. The 123 US–India Civil Nuclear Agreement is structured in a way that primarily serves to revive the struggling nuclear industry in the US, offering India little in terms of meeting its clean energy needs. During the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, American technological embargoes, trade restrictions, and other sanctions were aimed at pressuring India to open its markets on American terms. Over the decades, American leadership has consistently sought to woo Indian policymakers into granting greater access to American companies. However, such moves risk undermining India’s industrial and agricultural productivity, weakening its economy, and jeopardising the country’s food security.

India–US relations were relatively warmer during the presidencies of Mr Clinton, Mr George W Bush, Mr Obama, and Mr Biden, who viewed India as a strategic partner–though cooperation remained conditional, with underlying tensions over India’s independent foreign policy, its close ties with Russia, and differing approaches to the containment of China. The Trump administration is essentially continuing the legacy of the long-standing American approach toward India, imposing higher tariffs, introducing trade restrictions, and pursuing political realignments that aim to weaken India’s progress. Containment of Asia has consistently been a central feature of American imperial strategy–often supported by its European allies. This neo-imperial and neo-colonial approach seeks not only to undermine India and contain China, but also to exert control over Asia’s natural and human resources, knowledge, and skills in order to maintain dominance over global affairs. A recurring pattern in India–US relations is a persistent trust deficit, which continues to generate tensions despite the rhetoric of a “strategic partnership.”

The so-called bipartisan support for India as a strategic partner is a myth. It is driven entirely by American economic interests in regional and global politics–first aimed at containing China, and ultimately India as well. The American governing elite opposes the rise of Asia as a centre of peace and prosperity. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose 25% tariffs on Indian imports was not an isolated move, but rather a continuation of a long imperialist legacy. Similarly, the American commitment to fighting global terrorism is another myth. In practice, the US has consistently supported anti-democratic, authoritarian, and illiberal forces to destabilise democracies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Even the notion of American democracy in practice itself is deeply flawed; a system that struggles to uphold its own democratic principles at home cannot credibly promote democracy abroad. Instead, the US has repeatedly aligned itself with reactionary forces across the globe to sustain its imperialist hegemony abroad and the interests of billionaires at home.

However, the Hindutva politics of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, under both Mr Vajpayee and Mr Modi) has often displayed a colonial apologism, along with an eagerness to cultivate close ties with Yankee imperialists in the US and Europe. The current Prime Minister, Mr Modi, regarded Mr Trump as a friend and supporter of India. In fact, Mr Modi openly expressed this sentiment by effectively campaigning for Mr Trump during the American presidential elections, seeking to influence the Indian diaspora’s votes in favour of the Republican Party. Fundamentally, there is little difference between Republicans and Democrats when it comes to American foreign policy, which is ultimately driven by American corporate interests. In reality, the US can never be a truly trusted ally to any nation other than in the service of its own economic and strategic priorities. What India is witnessing today is not only the hollowness of the Indo–US relationship, but also the exposure of the ideological bankruptcy and failures of Hindutva politics and its foreign policy priorities.

The Trump administration is not likely to stop at imposing higher tariffs and penalties on Indian goods and services to weaken India’s economy; it will also seek to destabilise the region by promoting regional conflicts and terrorism to hinder India’s development and progress. It would be naïve to believe otherwise regarding the direction of the American approach toward India and Indians. Therefore, India and its people must revive the spirit of their secular, anti-imperialist, anti-colonial, and anti-capitalist politics to resist American hegemony and expose its nefarious strategies for the region and the world. India needs to expand its anti-imperialist struggle by building solidarities with countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe. The end of imperialism and its capitalist hegemony would be beneficial for people worldwide, paving the way for democracy, peace, and prosperity across the globe.

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Frontier
Vol 58, No. 9, Aug 24 - 30, 2025