India was prepared to continue negotiations about the tariffs, until Trump telescoped he was prepared to add a general 50% tariff on India, over its imports of oil from Russia.
India registered that prospect as hypocritical as China buys as much oil from Russia as does India, and the EU states buy almost 3/4 of a million barrels from Russia annually, yet no special extra general 50% tariff was proposed for them.
India’s long high sense of nationalism arose on the matter.
This week high level discussions between India and China are patching up their relations.
Trump thinks he’s playing Nixon trying to split of Russia and China from strong alliance with each other. I don’t think it will work, but he has moved the needle of friendly relations closer between India and China - the two largest nations in all of Asia.
Instead of imposing an extra tariff on India, he (Art of the Deal) should have proposed a U.S. brokered deal of oil for India from the Gulf States and the Saudis, to replace the oil its getting from Russia. That deal India would have respected and not got is national pride aroused.
Eff India.
A policy of “friendly relations between India and China” is contrary to their fundamental interests.