Latest news with #HowdyModi
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
The end of the Trump-Modi bromance
When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Donald Trump in the Oval Office in May, the Indian premier was in an exuberant mood at the prospect of a second Trump term. Trump was a man with whom Modi had formed a personal bond — or even better, a friendship. Did the two not share fond memories, Modi reminisced, of appearing together at the 'Howdy Modi' rally in Texas in 2019, and of hosting another joint mega-event in Modi's home state of Gujarat in 2020? In the coming years, would the two not advance the U.S.-India relationship with 'the same warmth, the same trust, the same excitement'?
Arabian Post
6 days ago
- Business
- Arabian Post
From ‘Howdy Modi' To 50 Per Cent Tariffs On Indian Exports: The End Of An Illusion
By R. Suryamurthy Prime Minister Narendra Modi's declaration that he is willing to 'pay a heavy price' to stand by Indian farmers in the face of escalating U.S. trade tariffs has captured headlines—but not necessarily for the right reasons. It is a speech crafted more for the political stage than the policy war room. Beneath its populist veneer lies a troubling admission: the government's foreign policy is increasingly reactive, strategically confused, and, worse, electorally obsessed. The backdrop is serious. On August 6, the White House announced a sweeping 25% additional tariff on all Indian imports, doubling duties to 50%, effective August 27. The justification: India's continued purchase of Russian oil. The real consequence: the unraveling of a decade's worth of public diplomacy between two supposedly 'natural allies.' What should have triggered a sober recalibration of India's external economic strategy has instead become an opportunity for political theatre. With key state elections in Bihar, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal between October 2025-to May 2026, Modi has repurposed a severe diplomatic setback into a rhetorical opportunity—an opportunity to shore up his image as the unwavering protector of Indian farmers, even as the economic fallout from this trade standoff threatens tens of billions in exports and thousands of jobs. Speaking at the MS Swaminathan Centenary International Conference, Modi projected himself as a man under siege for doing the morally right thing. Without naming the United States or President Trump, he defiantly declared that he was prepared to suffer political consequences for refusing to compromise on India's agricultural sovereignty. But here lies the problem: this wasn't an articulation of long-term economic vision or a coherent foreign policy strategy. It was a soundbite engineered to dominate the nightly news and trending hashtags. For all the fiery rhetoric, the Modi government offered no blueprint for how India plans to shield its exporters, safeguard trade relations, or navigate a global economic environment increasingly hostile to its interests. India's largest trading partner has just raised the economic cost of doing business by 50%—and the official response was a speech designed for rural voters. The so-called Modi-Trump friendship, once showcased as a symbol of India's rising diplomatic clout, now lies in ruins. The 'Howdy Modi' and 'Namaste Trump' rallies were held up as high points in the strategic partnership between the world's largest democracies. But the reality was always more transactional than transformative. And the latest tariff escalation exposes that transactionalism in full. The current trade penalty—far harsher than what Washington imposes on China, Vietnam, or even NATO allies—makes a mockery of the goodwill supposedly cultivated over years of personal diplomacy. According to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), India imported $52.7 billion of Russian oil in 2024—less than China's $62.6 billion. Yet Beijing faces no tariffs. The European Union imported $25.2 billion of Russian oil last year, and even the U.S. bought $3.3 billion worth of strategic materials from Russia. India, by contrast, has been singled out. Not because it is the worst offender—but because it is the easiest target. The opposition has seized the moment, and rightly so. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has derided the prime minister's relationship with Trump as an exercise in vanity diplomacy that has yielded no tangible benefits. 'Dost dost na raha,' he quipped on social media, summarizing in one line what many in the policy community have felt for years: Modi's foreign policy has been heavy on spectacle, light on results. More damning is the opposition's broader critique—that this is not an isolated trade dispute, but a symptom of a deeper malaise. The government has repeatedly failed to anticipate global headwinds, whether it was the fallout from the 2020 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the West's sanctions regime on Russia, or shifting supply chains post-COVID. India's response has been reactive, not strategic. And the latest tariffs have only highlighted that dysfunction. There is no denying the centrality of farmers in India's electoral politics. Roughly half the Indian workforce is engaged in agriculture. Modi's dramatic reversal on the 2021 farm laws—following a year-long protest movement—remains one of the rare instances where public pressure forced his government into retreat. The Prime Minister has learned that lesson well. His latest comments are aimed squarely at insulating himself from fresh criticism: frame the tariff standoff not as a policy failure, but as a noble stand for Indian farmers. The message is emotionally resonant especially in states where elections are imminent but strategically hollow. Where is the articulation of how Indian farmers benefit from continued purchases of Russian oil? How does refusing to liberalise dairy and agricultural markets shield domestic producers if export channels dry up under punitive tariffs? None of these questions were addressed—because the speech was never meant to answer them. The fundamental problem is this: Indian foreign policy is now subordinate to domestic political cycles. Modi's calculus is simple—optics over outcomes. Rather than confront the difficult reality that the U.S. is recalibrating its global alliances through economic coercion, the government has chosen to turn the episode into a domestic drama about sovereignty and sacrifice. This is not statecraft—it is short-termism at its worst. By politicising the trade crisis, the government has closed off the space for serious negotiations. As long as New Delhi insists on couching every foreign policy challenge in the language of electoral battle, it will be unable to build the trust necessary to engage with global partners on equal terms. Ironically, the U.S. action may force India to revisit its own assumptions. The idea that India can be a trusted partner of the West without being a pliant one is now being tested. If the current penalties are a preview of what economic alignment with the U.S. entails, India may very well accelerate its hedging strategy—strengthening ties with Russia, the Global South, and even China where interests align. But this pivot must be based on strategy, not spite. As GTRI has argued, retaliation would be counterproductive in the short term. India must remain calm, avoid tit-for-tat escalation, and prepare the ground for a more robust economic policy—one that does not leave it vulnerable to the whims of an unpredictable U.S. administration. Modi's speech offered no such clarity. What it offered instead was a reminder that the Prime Minister is at his most comfortable not in closed-door negotiations, but on a public stage, casting himself as the lone warrior standing up to foreign pressure. What we witnessed this week was not leadership, but performance. At a moment when India's exporters, trade negotiators, and strategic thinkers needed clear direction, they got a campaign speech. The Modi government has taken a serious economic threat and turned it into a political script, hoping that a few emotionally charged lines about farmers will be enough to deflect scrutiny. India's global ambitions require more than bluster. They require competence, consistency, and above all, credibility. If the government continues to treat foreign policy as just another front in its perpetual electioneering, it risks isolating India at a moment when the world is more fragmented—and more transactional—than ever before. And no amount of political spin can shield the economy from the hard landing that may now be coming. (IPA Service)
Mint
6 days ago
- Business
- Mint
US-India Tariff Timeline: From ‘tariff king' to ‘dead economy' — How it all fell apart
In September 2019, US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stood side-by-side in front of a roaring crowd of over 50,000 in Houston, Texas. The 'Howdy Modi' event was billed as a celebration of US-India friendship, and the two leaders did not disappoint. "I'm so thrilled to be here in Texas with one of America's greatest, most devoted and most loyal friends," Trump declared. Modi returned the warmth, calling Trump a 'true friend in the White House'. Fast-forward to August 2025 — that bonhomie has collapsed. A full-blown trade war is now underway, with India facing a staggering 50% tariff on its exports to the US. What happened in between tells a story of shifting priorities, escalating trade disputes, and a friendship that couldn't survive realpolitik. The cracks began to show long before the Houston event. In early 2018, Donald Trump publicly slammed India's high import tariffs on Harley-Davidson motorcycles, labelling them 'unfair'. India, he noted, was charging up to 100% tariffs on imported bikes, while the US taxed Indian motorcycles at zero. By March, India was hit with 25% tariffs on steel and 10% on aluminium as part of Trump's broader 'America First' trade agenda. It was a shot across the bow — one that would set the tone for future economic skirmishes. Just months before 'Howdy Modi,' Trump announced the end of India's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) status, a trade concession that had allowed duty-free exports of over $5 billion worth of Indian goods. Barely weeks after sharing the stage in Houston, Trump labelled India the 'Tariff King', accusing the country of some of the world's highest duties. The phrase would go on to define Trump's view of Indian trade policy for years to come. Despite these jabs, public displays of friendship continued between the two leaders — but behind closed doors, tensions were mounting. Following Modi's high-profile visit to Washington in early 2025, optimism briefly returned. Both sides floated the idea of a comprehensive trade deal, with hopes of doubling bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. Negotiators from both nations began five rounds of intensive talks between March and July. Indian officials were so confident they briefed media that tariffs could be capped at just 15%. In a dramatic reversal, Trump scrapped the expected trade pact and instead imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods. His social media post that day read: 'India's tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the world, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any country.' The following day, Trump's rhetoric turned sharply hostile. 'I don't care what India does with Russia,' he wrote online. 'They can take their dead economies down together for all I care.' The comment stung, especially as India remains one of the world's fastest-growing major economies, with GDP growth above 6% even amid global downturns. As if to twist the knife, Donald Trump simultaneously announced a trade deal with Pakistan, praising its cooperation and even suggesting that Islamabad might someday sell oil to India. This came on the heels of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, further souring sentiment in New Delhi. On 6 August, Trump signed an executive order slapping a further 25% tariff on Indian imports, bringing the total to 50%. India now finds itself among the most heavily tariffed US trading partners in history, surpassing even China during its peak trade war with the US. From textiles and gems to pharmaceuticals and auto parts, Indian exporters are now staring at a sharply reduced margin — or outright exclusion — from the lucrative American market. Trade analysts have dubbed it the worst crisis in US-India economic relations in over two decades. What began as a squabble over motorcycles has now escalated into a full-scale economic confrontation. The fallout raises a critical question: Can the strategic relationship between the world's largest democracies survive such intense economic strain? Or will trade tensions erode decades of partnership? As the dust settles on Donald Trump's tariff barrage, the answer may determine not just the future of Indian exports — but the broader balance of power across the Indo-Pacific.
India Today
6 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
Failure of foreign policy: Trinamool slams PM over Trump's tariffs on India
The Trinamool Congress on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, blaming the imposition of a 50 per cent tariff by the United States on Indian goods as a failure of India's foreign to questions about the US's move, Trinamool's National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee said in a dig at PM Modi, 'You should not ask this question to us. Ask this question to those who have captured pictures with Trump. This question should be asked to those who invited Trump to India and those who went to the US to campaign for Trump.'advertisementCalling the tariff a major blow, Banerjee said, 'This 50 percent tariff will have a great effect on our country. This is a diploma failure. India should fight this strongly. Those who want to pressurise India and want to demean us — why and how they got so much power, and how a government who claimed to have a 56-inch chest could not stop this?' Banerjee's comments came a day after the Trump administration hit India with an additional 25 per cent tariff, with a total levy of 50 per cent, over Russian oil purchases. Trump has accused India of helping Russia through its oil purchases in the Ukraine war, a claim New Delhi has strongly also referred to his recent participation in an all-party delegation to Asian countries, during which, he claimed, there was no condemnation of Pakistan over the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.'I don't want to say these things but I have gone to all-party meetings to Asian countries. They did not even condemn Pakistan in the Pahalgam attack. Who is responsible for this failure? Who campaigned for Donald Trump ahead of COVID in Gujarat? Who went to Texas to campaign for Trump? BJP workers did yagna for Donald Trump, praying for him. All these things are on social media," Banerjee a swipe at the Prime Minister, Banerjee showed an old video clip of Modi's speech on his phone, in which the PM introduced Trump during the 'Howdy Modi' event in Texas in 2019. 'Let me quote him: 'I present my friend, India's friend, Donald Trump,'' Banerjee said, mocking the camaraderie between the two further asserted that the responsibility lies with the ruling NDA government, not the Trinamool Congress. 'Prime Minister Modi campaigned for Trump in 2019 in Texas. He is in a better position and far more apprised to be able to speak clearly on this — that what made Trump impose 50 per cent tariff on India. The onus is on him. The onus is on the incumbent NDA and BJP government, not the Trinamool Congress. Mamata did not invite Trump and Mamata never went campaigning for Trump.'The Trinamool leader also criticised Trump for his recent remarks on the Indian economy, saying, 'No one has the power to kill the Indian economy. It is surviving on the love and affection of the Indian people. But I must say, the economy is in the ICU - and now, it's in a worse state.'- EndsTune InMust Watch
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Siddaramaiah slams Trump's tariffs, accuses PM Modi of ‘headline management' over national onterest
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday criticised the United States' decision to impose a 50% tariff on Indian goods, calling it 'economic blackmail' and a direct consequence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's focus on image-building rather than serious diplomacy. : Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. (PTI) Take a look at Siddaramaiah's post In a post on social media platform X, Siddaramaiah backed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's sharp attack on the Modi government's foreign policy. 'Rahul Gandhi raised timely alarms on multiple national issues, from GST to demonetisation and COVID mishandling. His warnings were dismissed, but time has proven him right. Now, he's been proven right yet again on the Trump tariff issue,' Siddaramaiah wrote. Also Read - Massive traffic jam on Bengaluru's Outer Ring Road leaves school kids stranded, sparks outrage Referring to the former US President's tariff hike and additional penalties over India's Russian oil imports, the Congress veteran said the developments were not mere trade measures but a strategic failure by the Modi government. He echoed Gandhi's criticism of the move as a pressure tactic aimed at coercing India into an unfair trade agreement. 'Donald Trump's decision to impose a 50% tariff on Indian products is not diplomacy, it's blackmail. And it's the result of PM Modi's obsession with headline management instead of defending national interests,' Siddaramaiah said. He further alleged that since 2019, the prime minister had gone out of his way to appease Trump, referencing Modi's campaign-style slogan "Abki Baar Trump Sarkar" during the 'Howdy Modi' event in the US and the grand welcome at the 'Namaste Trump' rally in India, held just as the COVID-19 pandemic was surfacing. 'Modi tried to create a personal equation, even coining terms like MIGA (Make India Great Again), in line with Trump's MAGA pitch. But Trump viewed these moves not as diplomacy, but as weakness,' Siddaramaiah said. He went on to highlight Trump's actions that undermined India, including repeated claims of mediating peace between India and Pakistan, cozying up to the Pakistani military leadership, and remaining indifferent to issues that directly affected India's security and dignity. Also Read - 'India must retaliate': Shashi Tharoor says 'hidden message' in US tariffs, cites China's oil purchases 'While Trump undermined India internationally, Modi chose silence to remain in Washington's favour. There was no protest, no resistance, just submission,' the CM alleged. Siddaramaiah also criticised Modi's outreach to Elon Musk, suggesting that it was part of the same flawed strategy, especially given Musk's alignment with Trump. Calling on the Prime Minister to 'grow up and act in India's interest,' Siddaramaiah accused the BJP government of ignoring early warnings and putting India's economic and diplomatic strength at risk.
