India, Oct. 17 -- The US-India "friendship" seems to have descended into a theatre of the absurd. Less than a month after signing the Graham Act, which threatens India (among other countries) with a 100% tariff for buying Russian oil, President Donald Trump has struck a deal to buy Russian diesel for the US. What must India do in such a context?

The temptation in New Delhi is to read this as hostility and wait for it to pass. The truth is less flattering. US secretary of State Marco Rubio says American tariff and immigration policies are not directed at India but apply globally. Rubio's global application claim is not strictly accurate. From August 2025 to February 2026, India paid 50% tariff on its exports to the US, half of it a penalt...