Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: After failing to impress upon the European Union (EU) immediately to impose higher tariffs against India, the US is trying to persuade the Group of Seven (G7) countries to levy higher import duties against New Delhi and Beijing, even as President Donald Trump and his sycophants continued their carrot-and-stick policy vis-à-vis India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi daily.
Interestingly, both US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had attended the G7 Summit in Canada in June 2025. Their expected one-on-one conversation did not happen because Trump returned to Washington mid-way to host Pakistani dictator “Field Marshal” Asim Munir to ‘celebrate’ Islamabad’s defeat in Operation Sindoor.
Then, Trump tried to woo PM Modi for a stopover in Washington, apparently to broker a peace deal between India and Pakistan. PM Modi refused to walk in this carefully laid trap, provoking Trump to impose a 25 percent tariff on India.
While the unpredictable Trump administration continues to push for higher tariffs on India and China, earlier this week, the US President appeared to soften his stance on New Delhi. Apparently, it did not want to paint India into the corner directly, lest it move even closer to Russia and China.
So, the US is using its ‘friendly’ platforms to do the dirty work. After asking the EU to raise tariffs, it will now pressure G7 member nations to impose higher import duties on India and China, the two largest buyers of Russian oil, to compel Moscow to engage in peace talks with Ukraine, according to The Financial Times report quoted in the media on Friday.
In a video call on Friday, finance ministers from the G7 leading economies will discuss a US proposal for new measures as President Donald Trump intensifies efforts to broker a peace deal in Ukraine.
This comes just days after he urged the EU to impose a 100 percent tariff on India and China for their continued purchase of crude oil from Russia, a move that he argues is fuelling President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
However, the EU treats sanctions and tariffs differently. Imposing such high tariffs on two important trading partners would be difficult because the bloc itself is buying Russian oil indirectly from India and gas directly from Moscow. Also, it is worried about the economic impact of import duties, a likely strong retaliation from China and an impending trade deal with India expected to be finalized in the next few weeks. Even America continues to buy minerals and fertilizers, among other things, from Russia!
Citing a US Treasury Department spokesperson, The Financial Times noted: “Earlier this week, we made it clear to our EU allies that if they are serious about ending the war in their own backyard, they need to join us and impose meaningful tariffs that will be rescinded the day the war ends.” Washington is trying to persuade the EU to levy between 50 and 100 percent tariffs.
Directly, however, the US President is still trying to woo India back to his fold. Earlier this week, Trump appeared to ‘soften’ his stance on New Delhi. In a post on his private platform Truth Social, he wrote:
“I am pleased to announce that India and the United States of America are continuing negotiations to address the trade barriers between our two nations. I look forward to speaking with my very good friend, Prime Minister Modi, in the upcoming weeks. I feel certain that there will be no difficulty in coming to a successful conclusion for both of our great countries!”
PM Modi and Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal have carefully thanked the US and exuded optimism that a likely bilateral trade deal, for which talks are underway, will yield result by the end of this year.
On Thursday, Trump’s India envoy pick Sergio Gor said the two countries are “not that far apart” on tariffs and that he expects the issue will be resolved in the coming weeks. Washington expects more from New Delhi than it does from other countries. “We hold our friends to different standards,” he said.
Bilateral ties between India and the United States hit a rough patch after Trump imposed a 25 percent ‘reciprocal tariffs’ against India on July 30, even as Washington secured trade deals with several other countries, including China. Tensions escalated further when he announced an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian goods over its continued purchase of Russian oil — while the US was actively trying to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Bilateral trade between the two countries is currently valued at more than USD 190 billion annually.