New Delhi: India’s purchase of Russian crude is being used as a weapon by US President Donald Trump, reports Alex Travelli in The New York Times.
Prior to the war in Ukraine, less than 1 percent of India’s oil supply came from Russia—it was only after the EU “stopped buying from Russia as punishment” that India stepped in; taking advantage of the discounted prices, explains the report.
“Quietly, this had pleased everybody. The Biden administration, which barred American companies from importing most Russian energy products, worried that too successful an embargo would upset global oil prices. Rerouting Russian crude kept the markets relatively stable; Europe was able to buy fuels refined in India; and Indian companies made a profit along the way,” it adds.
The Wall Street Journal reports that by amping up manufacturing in India, “Apple got the jump on tariffs”. It is now changing its centre of gravity—removing China from the game.
On Wednesday, Cook’s skill at navigating treacherous trade waters surfaced at the Oval Office, where Trump announced that Apple and other companies making domestic investments would be exempt from new global tariffs. Cook, who stood alongside the president, pledged a company investment of $100 billion in the US, says the report.
“Apple’s commitment falls short of Trump’s prior demand that it make iPhones in the US. Yet it proved enough to afford protection for now. Apple investors showed their appreciation Wednesday, driving up its market capitalisation more than $200 billion. Cook’s India strategy had looked increasingly risky after Trump publicly criticised it and then announced steep tariffs on the country.”
The result of the president’s announcement appears to be that Apple will continue to pay a 20 percent tariff on iPhones imported from China and none on ones from India, notes the report.
Also in WSJ, Trump is “targeting Russia via India”—but an obvious question arises. Why has China so far been immune to this blitz?
“Let’s hope Mr Trump has a strategy here because several US Presidents have devoted time and resources to courting India as a strategic counterweight to China in the Asia-Pacific. Walloping India with tariffs for buying Russian oil but giving China a pass won’t make more friends in Delhi,” reads the editorial.
The Indian rupee has “weakened substantially” owing, in part, to Donald Trump, but also due to investors vacating. FDI “has slowed to a trickle,” writes Veena Venugopal in Financial Times’ India Business Briefing.
“On a practical level, we are already seeing the real effects of Trump’s use of trade as an economic weapon. The disruption to India’s macroeconomic fundamentals because of the impact on the currency will certainly be high in the next few quarters,” she writes.
John Reed and Andres Schipani report in Financial Times that Indians are weary of “an ugly confrontation” with the US and are “wondering” whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be willing “to stand up to the world’s most powerful nation”.
They compare Modi’s predicament to Indira Gandhi’s run-in with Richard Nixon. Gandhi stood tall—saying that the US was “a friend, not a boss”.
“Indira Gandhi enjoyed a surge of support for defying Nixon, but analysts say Modi must balance the need to be seen to resist Trump’s pressure while finding ways to mending ties with India’s biggest trading partner,” says the report.
“Modi should shed his ego—if indeed that were possible—and take inspiration from the manner in which she stood up to the USA,” Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh is quoted as saying in the report.
The Washington Post also assesses the rupture in India-US ties. It also notes that the Kremlin has “stuck up for its trade with India”.
“Hesitation will eventually give way to a strategic shift, other analysts say,” according to report. “India will eventually come to the realisation that it needs the United States far more than it needs Russia,” Sameer Lalwani, non-resident senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, told The Post.
“While the terms of our relationship may seem unfair at present, it’s in India’s crude strategic calculus to do everything it can—especially symbolically—to keep the United States on side.”
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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