If China Is Indeed 'Dark' & 'Deep', Why Punitive Tariffs On India Alone?
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2025-09-06 05:53:11
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
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.
