Maybe even Trump is a bit confused, when did India become so firm? Facing his tariff sanctions, India has taken three countermeasures in a row, trying to cut off the American financial route, which is simply "reversing the natural order". What has the Modi government been doing? How will the US-India relationship deal with it next?

Since Trump threatened to impose an additional 25% tariff on India, the cumulative 50% tariff has put the Modi government in a dangerous position. If India follows America's requirements, it needs to stop energy trade with Russia and start purchasing American equipment on a large scale. But the problem is that importing oil from Russia and refining it at high prices for export to European countries has made India very profitable in recent years. Trump's pressure on Russia has caused India to be "punished by association" and lose significant interests, so Modi naturally won't agree.

So after a few days of silence, New Delhi issued a statement saying that India is a sovereign country with energy needs, and its trade cooperation with Russia is long-term and effective. It has never issued an order to ban domestic petroleum-related enterprises, and India will "take all necessary actions" to protect national interests. In other words, India is ready to challenge America to the end, even if it means bearing the 50% tariff.

The question now is: Does Modi have another card up his sleeve? Indeed, after Trump announced the formal implementation of the "reciprocal tariffs", India took three more countermeasures against the United States.

According to Reuters, an Indian official who did not want to be named revealed that due to the high tariffs imposed by the United States, the Indian defense minister Singh's planned visit to the United States has been canceled. The purpose of Singh's visit was to discuss previous arms procurement orders with the U.S., including armored vehicles, anti-tank missiles, and six P-8I anti-submarine reconnaissance aircraft. Now that the visit has been canceled, this valuable order is likely to fall through.

It is worth noting that before Trump raised the tariff rate, India had already declined to purchase the F-35 fighter jets from the United States. Although India claimed it was "not suitable for the current situation," the outside world believes this was Modi maintaining India's "great power dignity," not wanting to purchase American equipment under pressure.

Now that Trump has doubled the tariff rate, Modi has no chance of compromising. Canceling the defense minister's visit to the U.S. is a warning to the United States on the diplomatic level; canceling a large number of arms sales orders is a military-level retaliation. After all, Trump's "reciprocal tariffs" on over 170 countries mainly aim to harvest economic gains to fill the U.S. fiscal gap. Arms sales are undoubtedly the most violent item. Since Trump is not willing to give India face, Modi will not give Trump face either. By canceling orders and cutting off the U.S. financial route, let's see who will be the one to get worried in the end.

Don't think India's threats are ineffective. As a country with an incomplete military industry chain, India's military equipment is highly dependent on imports. This not only makes the Indian military equipment known as the "World Cup" but also makes it a "fat sheep" in the eyes of major arms suppliers like the U.S. and Russia. Any weapons that India is interested in can basically only be purchased at a premium, and the maintenance costs in the later stage are also very high, which are continuous profits.

Trump is dissatisfied with India's large-scale import of weapons from Russia for this reason. In his view, this money should go to the U.S. rather than Russia. Modi clearly knows what Trump wants. Since he doesn't want to give India a decent deal, then the U.S. won't get this money either. Let's fight it out, who's afraid of whom?

In addition to the countermeasures in the fields of diplomacy and military, India is actively seeking "aid." As a country that has long been absent from the BRICS and SCO summits, Modi has shown particular enthusiasm this year. Before the 2025 BRICS summit, he publicly stated that India will not leave the BRICS organization. During the meeting, he emphasized that BRICS is an important platform for "Global South" countries and its expansion helps balance the multipolar world order. India will firmly deepen cooperation within the BRICS platform. In addition, Modi has changed his attitude towards the SCO, sending the Indian defense minister to attend the meeting in June, and recently announced that he will attend the SCO summit in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1, and actively call on China and Russia to resume the trilateral cooperation mechanism for negotiations.

BRICS and SCO are important organizations for developing countries to respond to the Western bloc. In recent years, their expansion and increasing influence have begun to show a trend of standing up to the West. In this context, Modi, in order to enhance his bargaining chips in the game with the U.S., naturally wants to seize the opportunity. At the same time, Modi is also actively showing goodwill to China and Russia. In the context of global geopolitical instability, such beneficial actions for regional situations are unlikely to be rejected by China and Russia.

Now it's just a matter of who will back down first between India and the U.S. If Modi cannot withstand the pressure, he will face even harsher exploitation from the U.S. If the U.S. gives in first, Japan, the EU and other countries may also join together to challenge. How the U.S.-India confrontation ends remains to be seen.【The War Flag Team created, the author is responsible for the content】

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