Trump slams India’s tariff offer as “too late” amid PM Modi’s embrace of China, Russia

US President Donald Trump claimed that India has offered to eliminate tariffs on American goods, even as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared to deepen strategic ties with China and Russia during a high-profile summit in Beijing.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump accused India of long maintaining an imbalanced trade relationship with the United States, while revealing a recent offer from New Delhi to drop tariffs entirely, Caliber.Az reports.

“They have now offered to cut their Tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late. They should have done so years ago,” Trump wrote, adding that the relationship with India has been “one sided.”

The Indian Embassy in Washington declined immediate comment on Trump’s remarks, which come amid ongoing uncertainty over the trajectory of US-India trade ties. Tensions have risen in recent years following the imposition of sweeping tariffs by the US on Indian goods — some of which face total duties of up to 50% — raising concerns over the durability of the strategic partnership.

Trump’s comments coincided with Modi’s appearance at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in China — a bloc of more than 20 non-Western nations, including Russia and China, which has been gaining renewed geopolitical momentum in response to Washington’s assertive trade policies.

At the summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping advocated for a new global economic and security order favoring the “Global South” — a direct challenge to US influence. In a symbolic moment, Modi was seen walking hand-in-hand with Russian President Vladimir Putin, before joining Xi for a photo opportunity that highlighted a show of unity among the three leaders.

Modi’s visit, his first to China in seven years, also marked a diplomatic thaw between New Delhi and Beijing. On August 31, Modi and Xi issued a joint statement describing their countries as “development partners, not rivals,” and pledged to strengthen trade ties.

The White House and the US State Department have not yet responded to the developments in Beijing or to Trump’s latest comments. However, the optics of Modi aligning publicly with Russia and China may complicate US-India relations at a time of increasing global polarization.

Trump has previously threatened punitive tariffs on India over its continued purchase of Russian oil, a move he criticized as undermining Western efforts to isolate Moscow over the war in Ukraine. The shift in tone from both Washington and New Delhi underscores the fragile balance in the evolving trilateral dynamics between the US, India, and China.

By Vafa Guliyeva