New Delhi: Former diplomat Vikas Swarup has cautioned against escalating rhetoric in the India-US tariff standoff, stressing that while Washington may be exerting “all kinds of pressure,” New Delhi will continue to uphold its principle of strategic autonomy.
Speaking on Friday, Swarup who once served as spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs said the optimism that surrounded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal equation with US President Donald Trump has dimmed as trade negotiations stall. “We thought an agreement would come quite early. Unfortunately, that has not happened,” he observed.
Swarup made his remarks in response to the sharp comments of White House trade advisor Peter Navarro, one of the key architects behind the Trump administration’s decision to impose a sweeping 50% tariff on Indian imports. Navarro argued the measure was not just about market access but about cutting what he described as India’s “financial lifeline” to Russia, pointing to New Delhi’s purchases of discounted Russian crude.
In a post on X, Navarro charged that Indian refiners were re-exporting Russian oil at a profit while Moscow reaped hard currency to fund the Ukraine war. “American consumers buy Indian goods, India blocks U.S. exports, and then turns our dollars into Moscow’s war chest,” he claimed.
Swarup, however, dismissed the idea that India would bend under pressure. “India is a proud nation. We have always followed the principle of strategic autonomy. We will not be dictated by anyone,” he said. Yet, he also left room for optimism, noting that “time is still there for the two sides to find a mutually acceptable solution,” though he admitted that “current comments from Washington are not helping the cause.”
The debate comes against the backdrop of growing complexities in global trade and geopolitics. While Navarro has accused India of profiteering at the expense of US interests, Russian President Vladimir Putin, standing alongside Trump in Alaska earlier this month, claimed that bilateral trade between Moscow and Washington had actually risen by 20% since Trump’s return to the White House.
For now, Swarup’s words echo a broader sentiment in New Delhi: a call for pragmatism over provocation as the world’s two largest democracies navigate yet another test in their economic partnership.