India–US Tensions: More Than Just Trade

My profile has been fairly dormant, but I thought I’d break the silence with something I deeply care about—geopolitics. And right now, things are heated.

What we’re seeing between India and the U.S. isn’t just a trade spat anymore. It has escalated into a full-blown government-level face-off.

It started with U.S.–Pakistan bonhomie and Trump’s “Nobel” ambitions, and picked up steam as India leaned into SCO engagement with China and Russia. Washington is shocked (and visibly annoyed) that India is willing to chart its own course.

From the U.S. lens, this looks like a $4T economy challenging a $30T giant. But what the Trump administration often overlooks is India’s history—after centuries of colonialism, sovereignty here is non-negotiable.

Rick Sanchez, the U.S. political commentator, described it well: “When India said no, the world changed forever.” That refusal to bow on oil trade was not just a policy choice, but a cataclysmic, transformational moment in global power equations.

On tariffs:

1. 50% duties on Indian exports hit labour-intensive sectors—textiles, leather, shrimps, auto components.

2. That makes them uncompetitive, opening space for other exporting nations.

3. But these products are still far more expensive to produce in the U.S., so they’ll be imported anyway.

4. With India squeezed out, others will simply charge higher, pushing U.S. consumer prices up.

In short: it’s a lose-lose. India loses market share, the U.S. faces inflationary pressure.

Yet for now, both capitals are showing a brave face—neither willing to blink first.