T he Trump tariffs are weapons that have little to do with Russian oil, said geostrategist Brahma Chellaney. He said the 50 per cent tariffs, that came into effect today, are just a way to strong-arm New Delhi into a one-sided trade deal.

The US has doubled tariffs on Indian goods to as much as 50%, escalating trade tensions between the two strategic partners after months of failed negotiations.

President Trump focuses on the trade in manufactured goods, where India sells more to the U.S. than it buys. But the countries share a balanced trade in services.

Trump's trade tariffs on India had initially stood at 25% but were doubled as a sanction for continuing to buy Russian oil. | ITV National News

With the steep 50 per cent American tariffs on Indian goods exports kicking in from Wednesday, policymakers in New Delhi have their work cut out. The problem for them, however, is not knowing how long these tariffs will persist and if a policy intervention can be cogently rolled out without clarity over the timeline of the very disruption that it seeks to address.

A scheduled trip by a U.S. trade delegation to India later this month has been called off, according to reports. Several rounds of talks on a bilateral trade deal between the U.S.—the world's largest economy—and India, the world's most populous nation and itself a major economic power, have so far failed to yield an agreement.

Differences over opening up of India’s agriculture and dairy sectors, and purchase of Russian oil, turned a likely trade deal into sky-high tariff for India.

India and Russia agreed to boost trade ties on Thursday as their foreign ministers met in Moscow, giving little indication that U.S. President Donald Trump's hefty tariffs on India for buying Russian oil would disrupt their relations.

India and Kuwait held the seventh round of Foreign Office Consultations in Delhi to review and deepen their strategic partnership across various sectors including trade, defence, and culture. The meeting was co-chaired by high-ranking officials from both nations and focused on enhancing bilateral ties.