oppn parties If China Is Indeed 'Dark' & 'Deep', Why Punitive Tariffs On India Alone?

Story Of The Day

Tiranga Rally Is Excellent. Breaking The Law Was Not

October 17, 2026

People Are Talking About

People Are Talking About Junk Food Near Schools

News Snippets

  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
oppn parties
If China Is Indeed 'Dark' & 'Deep', Why Punitive Tariffs On India Alone?

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2025-09-06 05:53:11

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

Belated Acknowledgment

US President Donald Trump has belatedly acknowledged that the US has lost India and Russia to what he called "deepest, darkest China." He added, almost wistfully, that "may they have a long and prosperous future together."

Questions Need To Be Asked

But the question needs asking: whose actions pushed India to reconsider its relationship with China? And if China is indeed "deep and dark," why was India singled out for punitive tariffs while China was let off with little more than a rap on the knuckles?

India-China Were Not Bhai-Bhai

Consider the scenario. India has an extremely unfavourable trade balance with China - worse, in fact, than what the US claims with India. For the last few years, India has been cracking down on Chinese imports, restricting numerous items. It has banned Chinese apps it deemed a threat to internal security. It has tightened scrutiny on Chinese investments. On top of this, India and China share a long-standing, unresolved border dispute. Beijing has been meddling in the affairs of India's neighbours, undercutting India's influence in the region, while openly supporting and even arming Pakistan.

Pushing India Too Hard

Yet if India now appears willing to explore a strategic thaw with China, it is Washington that has pushed it there. The US is trying to force India into signing a blatantly one-sided trade deal and slapped punitive tariffs for buying Russian oil - this while ignoring the fact that China imports far more Russian oil than India, and that the European Union continues to buy massive amounts of Russian gas.

Why Was India Singled Out?

If President Trump truly believes China is "deep and dark," why has he not imposed similar punitive tariffs on Beijing? If the concern is Russian oil funding Putin's war, the numbers speak for themselves. According to a report, China bought 108.5 million tonnes of Russian oil in 2024 and continues to import 1.2 million barrels per day in 2025, if another report by CNN is to be believed. By comparison, India's purchases are modest. Meanwhile, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) reports that EU imports of Russian fossil fuels have barely declined: in the third year of the Ukraine war, EU imports totalled Euro 21.9 billion - a 6% drop in value but only 1% in volume. Strikingly, those imports actually exceeded the Euro 18.7 billion in financial aid the EU sent to Ukraine in 2024. Why then was India singled out?

Shift In Global Alignments

President Trump has some serious soul-searching to do. For it is clear he has miscalculated badly, and in the process the US has lost a reliable partner. This misstep will inevitably trigger a tectonic shift in global alignments.

 

Other Stories You Make Like

Editorials

Growth Without Jobs Is a Warning

Growth Without Jobs Is a Warning

 Delhi Curbs: Has The Government Panicked?

Delhi Curbs: Has The Government Panicked?

In Depth

Grounds Of Arrest: The Supreme Court's Rule Must Be Followed By The Police On The Ground

Grounds Of Arrest: The Supreme Court's Rule Must Be Followed By The Police On The Ground

Editor's Pick

For the Goonj to Reverberate, Rahul Gandhi Must Take Regional Parties Along

For the Goonj to Reverberate, Rahul Gandhi Must Take Regional Parties Along
© 2014 India Commentary. All rights reserved.