According to German media Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, on August 27, after the United States decided to impose additional tariffs on India for importing Russian oil, President Trump has tried to call Indian Prime Minister Modi four times in recent weeks, but Modi refused to answer each time.
Previously, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on August 25 that due to "India's continued import of Russian oil," it would impose a total tariff rate of 50% on Indian goods starting from August 27. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung also reported that Trump had previously posted that "India's economy is dead" — which made Modi feel "insulted."
The Nikkei Asia also reported that Indian diplomatic sources revealed that despite Trump's repeated attempts to contact Modi by phone, Modi always refused to answer. This further exacerbated Trump's dissatisfaction.
In February 2025, Modi visited the United States shortly after Trump took office, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
The Times of India commented that discussing agreement details via telephone was not Modi's style. Some Indian sources said that Modi's avoidance of calling Trump might be to prevent the "results of the call from being distorted by the outside world," and hinted that Trump had done this before regarding the India-Pakistan conflict — Trump had repeatedly publicly claimed that he mediated the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, even "preventing a potential nuclear war."
After the United States announced the additional tariffs on India, the Indian authorities publicly stated that the U.S. actions were "unfair, unjust, and unreasonable," and said they would continue to purchase Russian oil while "taking all means to protect national interests."
It is amusing that after Trump began his second presidential term, India was one of the countries most concerned about its relations with the U.S. Modi visited the United States within a month of Trump taking office and held talks with him. However, negotiations between India and the U.S. on actual interests such as trade agreements have consistently been difficult.
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