In a press conference held before he became president, US President Donald Trump called Indian Prime Minister Modi his close friend.
‘Modi is a man who is not afraid of anyone. He is a kingmaker. He is my close friend…’
These were the words Trump used to reassure Modi. Modi was among the foreign leaders who rushed to the United States to meet Trump when he became president for the second time. Modi met Trump and conveyed his congratulations. The new Vice President, who took office alongside Trump, later visited India. The Vice President’s wife is of Indian origin. Modi also attended the birthday party of the American Vice President’s children in France. The two met again at a conference held in Paris, where the birthday party of the Vice President’s son took place, and Modi was invited. He happily attended the celebration.
It was during this period that Trump began imposing new tariffs on countries trading with the United States. As soon as he announced the new policy, Indian representatives travelled to Washington to begin negotiations aimed at reducing the tariff rate. No other country entered into talks so quickly after the announcement. Economic experts predicted that, due to the close friendship between Modi and Trump, the tariff on India would be set at 12%. Sri Lanka also feared that if India faced a 12% tariff, American investors in Sri Lanka would relocate to India. But to everyone’s surprise, Trump first imposed a 25% tariff on India while reducing rates for other South Asian countries.
Why was that?
The reason was this: Trump asked his close friend Modi to open the Indian market to American agricultural and animal products. Trump assured Modi that if India opened its market to American food and dairy products, the tariffs on India would be reduced.
‘That cannot be allowed…’
This was Modi’s firm reply to Trump. After giving that answer, he travelled to Varanasi and addressed a gathering, saying that India’s farmers, dairy farmers, and small industrialists were more valuable to him than Trump’s friendship or his tariffs.
‘We are Swadeshi. I cannot betray our Swadeshi farmers, dairy farmers, and young entrepreneurs…’
When Modi declared this, the people of Varanasi applauded until their hands ached.
Modi was right.
If India’s market had been opened to American agricultural and dairy products under Trump’s terms, Indian farmers and dairy producers would have suffered greatly. Political strategists within the Bharatiya Janata Party warned that such a move would also endanger Modi’s political future.
‘We are indigenous,’ Modi proclaimed to the entire nation. India is also a major buyer of Russian oil, and Trump threatened to raise tariffs further if India continued to purchase it. Despite these threats, India proceeded with the deal, and Trump responded by increasing tariffs on India by a further 25%.
Another issue between Trump and India was the BRICS organisation, co-founded by India, China, and Russia. Trump pressured India to withdraw from BRICS, but India refused.
Sri Lanka applied to join BRICS during the tenure of Ranil, a strongly pro-American leader. Ranil urged the other BRICS countries to accept Sri Lanka, fully aware of US opposition to the bloc. He eagerly anticipated attending the BRICS summit in Russia in 2024.
Ranil was defeated, and Anura became president. The Russian ambassador to Sri Lanka, believing the country now had a leftist leader loyal to Russia, delivered a special invitation from President Putin to attend the BRICS summit. Anura declined, avoiding the summit to please the United States.
But the United States cannot be appeased so easily. Washington imposed numerous conditions on Sri Lanka in exchange for reducing the 30% tariff rate, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance has stated that these conditions cannot be disclosed.
‘Does that mean the leftist government has betrayed the Sri Lankan farmer…?’
It is not yet clear. The undisclosed agreements will eventually come to light. One cannot play games with Trump—he has threatened countries that have been granted tariff reductions with double rates if they fail to honour the agreements made.
‘Then will Modi’s government be considered domestic while the left-wing government in Sri Lanka is foreign…?’
It is difficult to say. Rohana Wijeweera founded the JVP in opposition to American imperialism, yet the current JVP government has bowed to it in order to secure a lower tariff rate. Trump’s tariffs are a trap—a trap that destroys local agriculture and industry. India avoided that trap. Sri Lanka fell into it. The Sri Lankan left has now become bait for America.
