Analysis

India’s Defiance Shows US Tariff Coercion Futile in Multipolar World

India refuses to be strong-armed into choosing sides by US tariffs, underscored Aravind Yelery, Associate Professor at the Centre for East Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Sputnik
India is challenging the “American-dominated matrix,” Aravind Yelery, who is also an Honorary Fellow at the Indian Institute of Chinese Studies, told Sputnik.
“India’s participation in the alternative world order — the Global South — is increasingly seen as compromising Western domination,” stressed the pundit.

Strategic Autonomy

India’s approach is rooted in a clear determination to forge its own path, noted the analyst.
Unlike Europe, it views its ties with Russia and China through a pragmatic lens.
US tariffs have only pushed India and China closer, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to visit China for the first time in seven years to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

Multilateralism Over Muscle

Through platforms like BRICS and SCO, India backs a world of cooperation over coercion. It sees the US tariff policy as “reactive and ill-calculated,” further strengthening its resolve to deepen ties with emerging powers.
India never viewed the Quad group of Australia, India, Japan, and the US as a military alliance, but rather as a platform for sustainable collaboration.
“The summit-level participation of the Indian Prime Minister at BRICS events, as well as the upcoming SCO meeting, underscores the growing significance of multilateralism and the surging role of developing economies in balancing global growth,” Yelery said.
Increasing American isolation — through sanctions, tariffs and erratic policies — only accelerates global realignment, the analyst warned.
Analysis
Global South Defies US Threats Over Friendship With Russia
Discuss