India, Nov. 3 -- If world diplomacy were a giant dance room, the US President Donald Trump's trade-tariff choreography in South Korea looked a wild night-out, as he hugged China's President Xi Jinping, evinced an interest to twirl with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and did a few hoops and turns for media's entertainment. Trump's public flourish that he wants to do a trade deal with India came amid a high-profile meeting with Xi, which was a tryst that resulted in temporary tariff tweaks, half-baked promises, and head-turning one-liners for the stock markets and policymakers.

For India, there was a bit of good news, as America, after imposing 50 per cent tariffs, and squeezing the former's hands for buying Russian oil, hinted that...