India at 50%: How Trump’s Tariff Gambit Is Stress-Testing New Delhi’s Balancing Act

The headlines say it clean and loud: U.S. tariffs on India have been doubled to as high as 50% on a range of exports, with the White House tying the move to New Delhi’s continued purchases of discounted Russian crude. For years, India has perfected the art of strategic hedging—buy energy where it’s cheapest, deepen tech and defense with the U.S., keep channels open with Russia, and avoid being boxed in by China. Trump’s newest salvo compresses that maneuvering room to a sliver. What’s striking isn’t only the size and pace of escalation. It’s the optics: a U.S. president talking “peace through strength” on Ukraine, while punishing a partner he still needs for Indo-Pacific balancing. The executive-branch language frames the tariffs as part of a broader squeeze on the Kremlin’s war machine, but for Indian businesses—from gems and jewelry to apparel and specialty chemicals—the policy lands like a hammer. Why now—and why India? The official line in Washington is simple: if...