US tariffs a pressure tactic: Trump signals pro-Pakistan move if India does not cut Russia ties

President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that the US is slapping 25% tariffs and an “unspecified penalty” on India.

He categorically highlighted India's continuous reliance on Russian oil and weapons, and its role in the BRICS grouping, to justify the additional penalty.

"Well, we're negotiating right now and it's also BRICs. You know they have BRICs, which is a basic a group of countries that are anti the United States and India, is a member of that, if you can believe it. It's an attack on the dollar. And we're not going to let anybody attack the dollar. So it's partially BRICs and it's partially, it's partially the trade,” he said.

He added, “The trade situation is a deficit. We have a tremendous deficit. So, as you know, Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi is a friend of mine, but, they don't do very much business in terms of business with us. They sell a lot to us, but we don't buy from them. You know why? Because the tariff is so high. They have one of the highest tariffs in the world. Now they're willing to cut it very substantially. But we'll see what happens. We're talking to India now. We'll see what happens. It doesn't matter too much whether we have a deal or whether we charge them a certain tariff. But you'll know at the end of this week."

Trump's rant on social media

After announcing the tariffs, a disgruntled Trump unleashed wrath on India over its oil purchases from Russia.

In back-to-back posts on the Truth Social platform, Trump labelled India and Russia a “dead economy”. He sarcastically suggested that New Delhi buy oil from its rival Pakistan after the US helps finish building Islamabad’s oil reserves.

But experts are skeptical of Pakistan’s hydrocarbon potential.

Despite Pakistan’s claims of finding oil and gas reserves in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a few offshore locations, there have been no verified surveys or drilling activities to back those assertions.

Rather, analysts interpret Trump’s remarks as a subtle threat to India—that if New Delhi continues to rely on Moscow, Washington will align itself with its regional rival, Pakistan.

Even the US Treasury Secretary pointed out India’s ties with Russia as the main cause of Trump’s frustration.

"Well, I don't know what's going to happen. It'll be up to India. India came to the table early. They've been slow rolling things. So I think that the president, the whole trade team is a bit frustrated with them. And also, India's been a large buyer of sanctioned Russian oil that they then resell as refined products. So you know they have not been a great global actor," he said.

But India maintains that any trade with the US has to be aligned with its national interests.

“The implications of the recent development are being examined by the government. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is engaged with all stakeholders, including exporters and industry for taking feedback of their assessment of the situation. The government attaches the utmost importance to protecting and promoting the welfare of our farmers, workers, entrepreneurs, exporters, MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) and all sections of industry. We will take all necessary steps to secure and advance our national interests,” Piyush Goyal, India's Trade Minister, said in the parliament.

India-US trade talks

One of the main sticking points in the stalled India-US trade deal is Washington’s demand that India open up its agriculture and dairy sectors.

But the Modi administration has remained reluctant, citing potential impact on domestic farmers and the risk of market disruption from cheap imports.

There’s another sticking point: defence deals. Trump has been pressurising India to increase purchases of American defence equipment.

According to Bloomberg, Trump offered to sell F-35 stealth fighter jets to India during Modi’s visit to Washington in February.

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But India reportedly showed little interest, calling the plane too expensive.

Instead, New Delhi told the Trump administration that it is more interested in a partnership focused on jointly designing and manufacturing defence equipment domestically.

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India has offered to ramp up import of natural gas, communication equipment and gold from the US in an attempt to bring Washington back to the table.