[Global Times special correspondent in the United States Li Zhi Global Times reporter Ren Yiran] According to a report by The New York Times on August 31, US President Trump has tried to talk to Indian Prime Minister Modi many times recently, but has been repeatedly left out in the cold. According to Newsweek, Trump will probably cancel his trip to India in autumn and his plan to attend the "Quadrilateral Security Dialogue" due to the cooling of relations with Modi.
The last officially confirmed call between the two wasly on June 17, when Trump left early at the G7 summit in Canada and flew back to Washington. In the phone call, Trump invited Modi to visit Washington, but Modi refused because he had a trip to Croatia. According to the New York Times, there were Indian government officials worried that Trump might force Modi to arrange a “co-framework” with Pakistani Army Chief of Staff Munir, who was also invited to the White House for lunch.
Meanwhile, on the phone, Mr. Trump repeated his claim that he had "resolved" India's military conflict with Pakistan and mentioned Pakistan's intention to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize. The New York Times reported that people familiar with the matter said the remarks were a hint that Mr. Modi should give similar support. However, Mr. Modi countered, making it clear that the cease-fire was entirely negotiated directly between India and Pakistan and had nothing to do with the United States. That disagreement, and Mr. Modi's refusal to discuss the Nobel Prize issue, reportedly played a huge role in the deterioration of relations between the two leaders, who have not spoken since.
The New York Times said that the United States and India later tried to arrange another call to finalize some trade agreements, but India was cautious about letting Modi talk to Trump. A senior Indian official said that India was worried that Trump might post anything he wanted on his social media "Real Social", no matter what agreement the two sides reached during the call.
Trump signed an executive order on July 31 to impose a 25% tariff on Indian imports from the US from August 7. Trump later called India “directly or indirectly importing Russian oil” and began imposing an additional 25% tariff on Indian exports from the US from August 27. This means that the U.S. tariff rate on India as a whole reached 50%. Trade talks were also suspended.
According to Reuters, India does not intend to stop buying Russian oil to meet U.S. demands. Today, Modi encourages India to economic self-reliance and buy more Indian-made products to reduce its reliance on the U.S.
Mr. Trump has decided not to attend the "Quadrilateral Security Dialogue" in India later this year, following planned meetings with the leaders of India, Australia and Japan, according to people familiar with the matter, Newsweek said on August 31.