Donald Trump’s return to the White House has reignited a global trade war. His tariff waves, investment ultimatums, and “America-first” reshoring agenda are reshaping world markets and not for the better. From Korea to Japan, France to India, nations are scrambling to absorb shocks to exports, currencies, and supply chains.
Yet in India, much of the domestic opposition reads these disruptions as proof that Prime Minister Modi’s foreign policy is faltering, that India is “losing friends” or “isolated” in global diplomacy. That charge may be politically convenient, but it is analytically lazy. The turbulence is global, not local.
Trump’s latest tariff package, 20 per cent across all imports, 60 per cent on China, and selective duties on allies, has hit Asia hardest. South Korea’s export orders have plunged as its electronics and shipbuilding sectors lose access to US markets. Japan’s auto majors, already struggling with post-pandemic costs, now face dual pressures: American tariffs on car imports and Washington’s demands to shift manufacturing to the US mainland.
Vietnam’s footwear exports to the US fell by nearly 30 per cent this September alone. Taiwan’s semiconductor suppliers are re-routing orders as American firms hesitate to absorb higher import costs. Europe, too, is under strain; French manufacturers call the tariff shocks a “major global upheaval” for an already fragile economy.
In short, Trump’s protectionism is not strengthening America; it is fragmenting the world economy. Even countries temporarily spared from tariffs find themselves coerced into “investment diplomacy,” being told to relocate factories to US soil in exchange for market access.
India’s Tightrope: Between Pressure And Prudence
India has not been immune. Washington’s renewed tariff threat on steel, aluminium, and pharmaceuticals has rattled exporters. Pressure to curb Russian energy imports and align more closely with American strategic priorities adds another layer of constraint.
Against this backdrop, the Opposition claims that India is “isolated” or “mismanaging relations” misses the point. When a superpower weaponises trade and investment, even close allies are forced to play defence. Japan and Korea, two of America’s oldest partners, are struggling to protect their national industries. Why, then, should India’s push for balance between East and West be read as failure?
If anything, New Delhi’s approach, pursuing deeper ties with Japan and Australia through the Quad, reopening trade talks with the EU, and quietly expanding energy partnerships with the Gulf and Africa, reflects pragmatic diversification, not drift. India’s foreign policy challenge today is not about “choosing sides.” It is about surviving a global order that has replaced cooperation with coercion.
Lessons From Kennedy And De Gaulle
This is not the first time America’s allies have bristled under its dominance. In the early 1960s, French President Charles de Gaulle clashed bitterly with John F. Kennedy over NATO command and U.S. economic control. De Gaulle viewed Washington’s tutelage as an affront to French sovereignty, even withdrawing from NATO’s integrated structure in 1966.
Kennedy’s team accused him of undermining Western unity; Paris accused Washington of imperial arrogance. In hindsight, de Gaulle’s defiance preserved Europe’s strategic autonomy and set the stage for a more balanced trans-Atlantic partnership.
The moral is simple: resisting an overbearing ally does not equal diplomatic failure. It can, in fact, be the highest form of statecraft. India today faces a similar moment. Balancing friendship with independence, cooperation with caution, is not weakness. It is realism.
Criticising the government’s external policy is fair game in any democracy. But critique without context risks turning foreign policy into domestic theatre.
Yes, India’s trade surplus with the U.S. has narrowed. Yes, negotiations on data flows and clean-tech subsidies remain contentious. But these are symptoms of a turbulent global system, one defined by American retrenchment, European protectionism, and Asian overcapacity, not signs of Indian mismanagement. In a world where even close allies are punished for success, self-reliance is not isolationism; it is survival.
Trump’s economic nationalism has left few winners. Korea, Japan, France, and India alike are learning that the world’s most powerful economy can also be its most unpredictable. For India’s Opposition to conflate this global disorder with a “failure of foreign policy” is to mistake the weather for the climate. Modi’s diplomacy may have flaws, all governments do, but the storm battering the world economy is not one of his making.
As Charles de Gaulle once reminded his American counterparts, alliances must rest on respect, not obedience. The same principle applies today. India’s task is to stand firm, trade widely, and refuse to confuse pressure for partnership. That is not a weakness. It is sovereignty.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publication. |
