How India's refusal to acknowledge Trump's mediation during the brief war with Pakistan led to a trade war with the US. For decades, the United States has been courting India as a counterbalance to China in Asia. But after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi refused to agree with US President Donald Trump's insistence that he had ended a Pakistan-India military conflict in May, Trump slapped 50 percent tariffs on Indian goods entering the US market.
Modi's visit to Tianjin for a regional security summit comes days after the US doubled tariffs on Indian exports to 50%, citing New Delhi's refusal to stop buying Russian oil. The row has upended years of deepening cooperation between India and the US, built on technology and a shared determination to counter Beijing's global ambitions. It has also forced India to aggressively look elsewhere to diversify its trade.