Al Jazeera has speculated in an analysis posted on Oct. 3 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s India is becoming disaffected from Washington and President Donald Trump, after a period of 18 months in which Modi’s friendship with Trump has been abused by U.S. tariffs and threats of 500% tariffs on its goods because it continues to import oil from Russian sources. The paper quoted India’s Minister of Foreign Affairs S. Jaishankar, speaking at an Asia Society event just after the UN General Assembly session: “If I stand back and look at the India-US) relationship, I note that much of the world has had a more difficult relationship with the U.S.,” he said. “I mean, that may not be a consolation, but that’s a reality.” It also notes that Modi himself described a recent phone call with Trump merely as “productive,” omitting to refer to the President as “his good friend” as in early meetings and calls.

New Delhi’s [concerns have grown as past tariff hikes—such as the additional 25% duty in July 2025—hit India while China was spared, despite both importing Russian crude; and as the Trump Administration was ostentatiously “tilting” toward Pakistan. Indian officials fear the tariff threat is being used to pressure India into cutting Russian oil purchases or accepting an unequal trade deal. Although India and the U.S. agreed on a framework arrangement earlier this year, it offers little protection against sudden tariff escalation. New Delhi has raised its concerns with Washington.

The change reported by Al Jazeera also follows important encounters between Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping, in which both described their countries as “partners, not adversaries.”