John Bolton, former US National Security Advisor, rained a heavy criticism on former President Donald Trump on his tariff policy towards India, labeling it as the worst course of action in favor of Washington. Bolton contended that the punitive tariffs that go well above 50 percent and impose a secondary 25 percent tariff on the Indian importation of Russian oil have served to shoot the opposite way, as now New Delhi is looking to get closer to Moscow and Beijing instead of breaking ties to the two.
According to Bolton, these actions negated the decades of diplomacy by the US to bring India out of Russian and Chinese influence. He attacked Trump over his perceived laxity on China and hardline policy towards India, terming the move a possible gigantic error. Bolton says that the irony is that the secondary tariff, designed to damage Russia, can instead reinforce the Russia-India-China axis and may lead them to bargain together against the US.
The ex-NSA recalled that although Trump momentarily carried out a trade war with China in April, he never tried to confront Beijing for fear of doing a deal with President Xi Jinping. India, however, experienced a tremendous rise in tariffs, which imposed a strain on the bilateral ties, and the trade of oil between Moscow and New Delhi did not essentially influence the situation. India has continuously justified its Russian oil imports; it labeled the US pressure as unfair and unreasonable.
In an Op-Ed published in The Hill, Bolton stated that Trump got soft on China, and it seemed to be at the expense of his strategic interests in his eagerness to get a deal with Chinese President Xi. He cautioned that upon doing this, Beijing may be under more favorable tariff treatment relative to New Delhi, and this may portend serious relational implications in the long term in regard to American Indo-Pacific strategy.
Bolton further indicated that Russian president Vladimir Putin may use this tariff disagreement to boost his geopolitical policy in his scheduled meeting with Trump, and further strengthen the Russia-India relationship to Washington at the expense.
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