From Trump\u2019s tariffs and India\u2019s purchase of oil from Russia to a U.S. tilt toward Pakistan<\/a>, friction between New Delhi and Washington has been hard to miss. And much of it has happened far from the corridors of power and, unsurprisingly, through Trump\u2019s posts on social media.<\/p>\n It has left policy experts wondering whether the camaraderie the two leaders shared may be a thing of the past, even though Trump has stopped short of referring to Modi directly on social media. The dip in rapport, some say, puts a strategic bilateral relationship built over decades at risk.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a testing time for the relationship,\u201d said Ashok Malik, a former policy adviser in India\u2019s Foreign Ministry.<\/p>\n The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n President Donald Trump, right, speaks with India\u2019s Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Ben Curtis, File)<\/p>\n President Donald Trump, right, speaks with India\u2019s Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Ben Curtis, File)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Simmering tensions over trade and tariffs<\/p>\n The latest hiccup between India and the U.S. emerged last week when Trump announced that he was slapping 25% tariffs on India as well as an unspecified penalty because of India\u2019s purchasing of Russian oil. For New Delhi, such a move from its largest trading partner is expected to be felt across sectors, but it also led to a sense of unease in India \u2014 even more so when Trump, on social media, called India\u2019s economy \u201cdead.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s recent statements reflect his frustration with the pace of trade talks with India, according to a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal administration thinking. The Republican president has not been pursuing any strategic realignment with Pakistan, according to the official, but is instead trying to play hardball in negotiations.<\/p>\n Trump doubled down on the pressure Monday with a fresh post on Truth Social, in which he accused India of buying \u201cmassive amounts\u201d of oil from Russia and then \u201cselling it on the Open Market for big profits.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n The messaging appears to have stung Modi\u2019s administration, which has been hard-selling negotiations with Trump\u2019s team over a trade deal by balancing between India\u2019s protectionist system while also opening up the country\u2019s market to more American goods.<\/p>\n \u201cStrenuous, uninterrupted and bipartisan efforts in both capitals over the past 25 years are being put at risk by not just the tariffs but by fast and loose statements and social media posts,\u201d said Malik, who now heads the India chapter of The Asia Group, a U.S. advisory firm . <\/p>\n Malik also said the trade deal the Indian side has offered to the U.S. is the \u201cmost expansive in this country\u2019s history,\u201d referring to reports that India was willing to open up to some American agricultural products. That is a politically sensitive issue for Modi, who faced a yearlong farmers\u2019 protest a few years ago.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n People walk by as students of Gurukul school of Art complete artwork of U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, in Mumbai, India, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (AP Photo\/Rajanish Kakade)<\/p>\n People walk by as students of Gurukul school of Art complete artwork of U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, in Mumbai, India, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (AP Photo\/Rajanish Kakade)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Trump appears to be tilting toward Pakistan<\/p>\n The unraveling may have gained momentum over tariffs, but the tensions have been palpable for a while. Much of it has to do with Trump growing closer to Pakistan, India\u2019s nuclear rival in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n In May, India and Pakistan traded a series of military strikes over a gun massacre in disputed Kashmir that New Delhi blamed Islamabad for. Pakistan denied the accusations. The four-day conflict made the possibility of a nuclear conflagration between the two sides seem real and the fighting only stopped when global powers intervened.<\/p>\n But it was Trump\u2019s claims of mediation and an offer to work to provide a \u201csolution\u201d regarding the dispute over Kashmir that made Modi\u2019s administration uneasy. Since then, Trump has repeated nearly two dozen times that he brokered peace between India and Pakistan.<\/p>\n For Modi, that is a risky \u2014 even nervy \u2014 territory. Domestically, he has positioned himself as a leader who is tough on Pakistan. Internationally, he has made huge diplomatic efforts to isolate the country. So Trump\u2019s claims cut a deep wound, prompting a sense in India that the U.S. may no longer be its strategic partner.<\/p>\n India insists that Kashmir is India\u2019s internal issue and had opposed any third-party intervention. Last week Modi appeared to dismiss Trump\u2019s claims after India\u2019s Opposition began demanding answers from him. Modi said that \u201cno country in the world stopped\u201d the fighting between India and Pakistan, but he did not name Trump.<\/p>\n Trump has also appeared to be warming up to Pakistan, even praising its counterterrorism efforts. Hours after levying tariffs on India, Trump announced a \u201cmassive\u201d oil exploration deal with Pakistan, saying that some day, India might have to buy oil from Islamabad. Earlier, he also hosted one of Pakistan\u2019s top military officials at a private lunch. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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