Of course, Trump started off with his favorite task of imposing tariffs on some of the biggest exporters to the US viz, China, Canada, and Mexico. Trump is of the firm belief that wherever the US has a cost disadvantage, he will impose penal tariffs on such exporters. That surely beats logic. China and Mexico manage to export to the US because they are able to manufacture top quality products at a much lower cost. America’s own cost structure does not permit that, so they depend on other countries. That is the basic terms of trade in the deal, but the Trump point of view is entirely different. 

For a start, India has been saved the first round of tariffs. As a pre-emptive step, India went ahead and cut the existing tariffs on some higher end US products so that it does not snowball into a bigger controversy. That appeared to have hit the nail on the head. However, Trump has been trying to arm twist the entire BRICS group; basically, as it is trying to target India along with China and Russia. For India, it is much beyond trade, and that is why it is essential India adopts a stance that is aggressive and tough, but it cannot appear to be really combative.   

The first round of deportations by Trump reeks of arrogance. India has to make it clear that even illegal refugees must be treated as humans when they are sent back. Also, no democratic nations allows even the most powerful country in the world to land a fighter aircraft on their soil. It has to be a civilian aircraft. But, above all, in this episode, India must underline the need for the US to protect the human rights of these migrants! 

Where India buys oil from is a decision that India has to take as a sovereign. India has held its own in the last 2 years and it must do the same in future also. If India finds that Russian oil is the most economical to buy, then India buys the oil from Russia. How the modalities are worked out is a different issue. It is not the job of the US to tell India where to buy oil from; sanctions or no sanctions! 

In our dealings with the US, India has traditionally allowed the US to have the upper hand. It is high time to put the foot down and set the limits. Like Russia and China, without being overly combative, India has to draw the lines on trade, oil purchases, treatment of migrants etc. Both India and the US are invested in each other and it is time for India to be treated as an equal partner in a deal!