Trump is losing Allies with his insane tariffs schemes

Time of India

07-08-2025

Freelance journalist Ashali Varma has authored the biography of her father late Lt. Gen. PS Bhagat — 'The Victoria Cross: A Love Story'. She was executive producer with the International Commentary Service Inc, New York in 1990. She was the executive publisher of The Earth Times, New York (1992- 98). She has also worked as the editor of Choices Magazine, United Nations Development Programme. She writes on various issues including human rights, population and sustainable development. LESS ... MORE
I honestly misread President Trump and his friendship with PM Modi. I thought he was after China as it had been playing America for years, by pumping in Fentanyl, by subsidising its manufacturing and dumping its goods in several countries around the world, especially in America. China did just about everything against any rules-based order.
From harvesting organs from live political prisoners, to going after the Falun Gong to killing several thousand students during the Tiananmen Square Massacre. The list of trade malpractice is long and known. China uses prisoners as unpaid workers in many of its export factories, as well as has hegemonic methods to build and arm islands in the South China Sea. It is also re-educating its Uighur populations by the millions in internment camps by separating parents from children, and saying faith is a mental disease. China has been outed many times by human rights groups but it seems to have literally paid newspapers, universities and countries with false dreams of growth and prosperity leading to debt and mayhem.
And now Trump, it seems, is making excuses for it and instead attacking India. The most hypocritical part is that it wants India to stop buying oil from Russia, though the US has never stopped buying Uranium from Russia, and Europe still gets gas and oil from Russia.
The Russia-Ukraine war was a proxy war for America. For decades after the Soviet Union's break up, Russia had wanted to be part of the Western Block, but so entrenched was the Deep State thinking on Russia being an enemy that the West did everything Russia requested them not to do, as in bringing more countries within the NATO ambit as a direct threat to Russia. Putin was even promised this would never happen, in meeting after meeting.
Thus, when Ukraine openly declared it wanted to be part of the European Union and NATO, America gave it the arms and billions of dollars to fight Russia, even though the country had been part of Russia for decades. The Cuban Missile Crisis was exactly the same thing in reverse, where President Kennedy had to threaten Russia not to arm Cuba with missiles so close the US.
President Trump's stance against India shows hypocrisy, as it is a well-known fact that the US buys Russian Uranium, chemicals and fertilisers but when questioned about it, Trump said he knew nothing about it!
It does seem that he is getting the wrong advice on tariffs and how to bring allies closer to the US. During his campaigning for his second term, Trump had said several times that had he been President, he would not have allowed Russia to get so close to China but he is not only doing this as President but also making India get closer to China. It is mystifying.
Russia has been a good and reliable friend of India for decades. It has supported India both militarily and internationally and given us defence equipment as well as allowed India to Make in India, by allowing technology transfers.
America has not been as reliable, arming Pakistan with weapons and F16s, knowing it would be used against India. Trump has to learn from history why America's foreign policy has alienated so many nations and has to decide that sanctions and tariffs should be applied not as a weapon but rather as a tool to create a level playing field for trade with every country, it wants to partner with.
America can't subsidise its own farmers who are rich with extensive land holdings and expect to dump agricultural goods on a country where farmers have small land holdings and the per capita income is several times smaller when compared with the US. In addition, when the world is turning towards organic farming, America wants to bring in GMO seeds and products that go against everything our farmers and dairy producers need or want. This goes for Indian consumers as well.
If trade is fair and benefits both countries, no one would object and there could be give and take but not at the cost of the health and well being of our citizens. This is simply not acceptable.
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Views expressed above are the author's own.