Newsweek, September 2025
The sudden imposition of U.S. tariffs on India has sparked intrigue in the American media landscape. It’s a rare occurrence to see India feature in U.S. news headlines—a feat usually reserved for major natural disasters.
India is considered an important U.S. ally in the Indo-Pacific, countering China’s dominance in global supply chains. But the U.S.-India relationship, which seemed to be sailing on cruise control just a few months ago, has hit its largest obstacle in decades. What started as President Donald Trump’s claims of a mediated “ceasefire” between the two nuclear rivals in the Indian subcontinent, India and Pakistan, following the Pakistan-backed terrorist attack in India, soon spiraled into a tariff war.
The latest ugly episode in the relationship saw Peter Navarro, President Trump’s senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, trashing and denigrating India, Hindus, and PM Narendra Modi in his social media posts and media appearances. His choice of Mr. Modi’s picture in a Yogic posture and his “Brahmin” comment have pushed the discourse closer to being Hinduphobic.
