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Steep US tariffs set to hit Indian exports from Wed; Modi avoids four calls from Trump, claims German media

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Aug 27, 2025 11:41 AM

Steep new tariffs from the US on India's goods will take effect from Wednesday, escalating tensions between the strategic partners, according to media reports.

According to Reuters on Wednesday, an additional 25 percent duty takes total tariffs to as much as 50 percent, among Washington's highest, in retaliation for New Delhi's increased buying of Russian oil. The report said that Indian exporters are bracing for a sharp decline in US orders after trade talks collapsed.

The raging trade dispute appeared to have upset Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who, claimed by a German newspaper, had refused to take four calls from US President Donald Trump in recent weeks.

"There are signs indicating that Modi felt insulted," the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung claimed.

Several Indian media outlets have reported the claims from the German media outlet Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The Times of India on Wednesday claimed that the German media did not cite the source of its claim, but opined that the trade clash between Trump and Modi illustrated that "India will not bow to American pressure and New Delhi wants to manage its relations with both Washington and Beijing in its own way."

According to the Times of India, officials in Washington declined to confirm or deny if the calls were made, but a key Indian diplomat said in a background conversation earlier this month that it is not Modi's style to negotiate details over the phone.

Another source was quoted by the report that "it is possible Modi ducked the call to be avoid the outcome of the conversation being misrepresented."

The German newspaper also noted that the way Trump is perceived in India has considerably changed, particularly due to his statements about plans to boost relations with Pakistan.

The US and India launched talks on a large-scale trade agreement in February, following Modi's visit to Washington, Reuters reported in February.

The Tasnim News Agency reported Tuesday that India's delegation made several trips to Washington to hold talks on the document. A US delegation's visit to India for the sixth round of talks, set for August 25, was canceled, the report claimed.

The Times of India reported Modi also declined Trump's impromptu invitation to visit Washington late June after the G-20 meeting in Canada -- when they did not meet in person as Trump left early. The report claimed that Washington wanted Modi in the White House at the same time with Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir. But India has expressed resentment about it, the Times of India claimed.