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51m ago

Modi’s SCO Optics With Putin and Xi Intensify Strain With U.S. as 50% Tariffs Take Hold

Analysts warn punitive U.S. tariffs risk driving India toward Russia–China coordination.

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) and Russia's President Vladimir Putin leaving together in a car for the venue of their bilateral meeting after attending the SCO Summit in Tianjin.
Chinese President Xi jinping (R) shows the way to Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit on September 1, 2025 in Tianjin, China.

Overview

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping at the SCO summit in Tianjin, with widely shared images including hand-holding and a ride in Putin’s limousine.
  • The Trump administration’s combined 50% duties are now in force after a 25% baseline tariff on 1 August and a 25% punitive levy on 27 August tied to India’s purchases of discounted Russian oil.
  • President Donald Trump called the trade relationship a “totally one-sided disaster” and claimed India offered to cut its tariffs to zero in a post reacting to the summit.
  • Trade adviser Peter Navarro intensified criticism by branding India a “laundromat for the Kremlin” and invoking caste-based language, while New Delhi defended Russian crude imports as essential for energy security.
  • U.S. messaging split as the Embassy in New Delhi hailed an “enduring friendship,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent downplayed the SCO as “performative,” and commentators warned Washington’s approach risks a strategic setback and closer India–China–Russia ties.