The era of the alliance between Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which had been showcased during the first term of the US president, has come to an end. Trump followed through on his threats by signing, on Wednesday, August 6, an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on New Delhi as a penalty for India's purchases of Russian oil. This new penalty, effective from August 27, is in addition to the 25% tariffs on Indian products exported to the United States that are set to take effect on Thursday, August 7. India is now being treated as harshly as Brazil under left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a declared opponent of Trump.

This escalation has put the alliance between Washington and New Delhi – which was meant to serve as a counterweight to China – at risk. It has also sparked a sense of betrayal in India, where the partnership between the two populist leaders once seemed promising. The language used by the Republican, in a message posted on his Truth Social platform, illustrates the deterioration of their relationship: "I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care," he wrote on July 31.

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