Goa, Aug. 14 -- Former diplomat and author Vikas Swarup has said that one of the key reasons behind Washington's punitive tariffs on New Delhi is US President Donald Trump's displeasure with India over two issues - its membership of BRICS and refusal to acknowledge his claimed role in brokering peace with Pakistan.

The former High Commissioner to Canada said Trump views BRICS as an anti-American alliance working to create an alternative to the US dollar, and believes India should not be a member. The second reason, Swarup noted, was New Delhi's rejection of Trump's repeated assertions that he mediated a truce between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack and subsequent Operation Sindoor. India has consistently maintained th...