In view of Trump’s tariff threats, should India accept all his legitimate and illegitimate demands? Should India abandon its decades-old friendship with Russia to save trade relations with America? This is really a big diplomatic challenge for the Modi government.
US President Donald Trump got the wife of the Venezuelan President taken away from the capital of Venezuela and brought to his country. Now his eyes are on Denmark’s Greenland. They are also warning Iran. Their relations with Russia and China have deteriorated for a long time. There is currently no sign of an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine. Is there a possibility of such incidents returning to a period of instability in the world after a long time? What are the challenges facing India in these circumstances, especially when its relations with America are deteriorating day by day?
After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, there was no country left on the world map to challenge America’s superpower status. The long period of Cold War had ended and in its place the era of marketism had begun. A big market like India became the main center of world trade during the period of liberalization and gradually it became a common belief that the new super power of the world would be the one which has dominance over the international market. Most of the nations also understood that instead of war on the borders, encroachment on the sovereignty of other countries and increasing dominance by demonstrating their military power, it is a better strategy to achieve the title of super power by increasing their economic strength. Therefore, most of the countries abandoned the prejudices against each other and joined together to normalize mutual relations again. The global market, once considered synonymous with capitalism, became an open door to economic prosperity for any country that was willing to trade on its terms.
During that period, relations between India and America gained unprecedented strength. The bitterness after the 1971 Bangladesh war was forgotten due to mutual needs. In the coming years, there was a boom in bilateral trade, which was beneficial for both the countries. This relationship gained momentum after the advent of the Internet. On a large scale, India’s skilled youth became a part of America’s digital revolution and India and America came to be considered natural allies of each other. India-US relations grew stronger and after Donald Trump’s re-election as President early last year, it was believed that the relations between the two countries would reach new heights. But by the end of the year, there was such a sourness in the relationship that no one was aware of. The irony is that the root cause of the rift in relations is marketism more than any other reason.
India has in recent years bought oil extensively from its old ally Russia at cheap rates. America does not want India or any other country to trade oil with Russia. It alleges that this is indirectly helping Russia in its long-running war against Ukraine. After returning to power, Trump had made tall promises that he would stop the war by becoming a mediator between Russia and Ukraine, but he did not succeed. Obviously, Trump holds Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible for this and is upset with India for doing oil trade with Russia. Due to not getting the expected response from India, Trump is now talking about imposing 500 percent tariff. Trump has already imposed heavy tariffs on India, due to which the trade relations between the two countries have declined significantly. This can definitely cause loss to Indo-American trade.
But, in view of Trump’s threats to impose tariffs, should India accept all his legitimate and illegitimate demands? To save trade relations with America, should India end all trade relations with Russia and abandon its decades-old friendship? That too when America and many other western countries are doing business with Russia? India’s trade deal with America is also hanging in the balance. This is definitely a big diplomatic challenge for the Modi government. Till now India has not bowed down to the pressure of America and looking at its record it can be said that it will not bow down either. If the Trump administration feels that it can harm India by imposing sanctions, then it would be a matter of denying the current reality. India is counted among the strong economies today. He has the strength and resources to face such challenges. India has not been in favor of confrontation in bilateral relations, but this should not be considered its weakness. It is better for both the countries to normalize relations again, otherwise only one side will suffer the loss.