Donald Trump has reacted angrily after Vladimir Putin was seen holding hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an anti-NATO summit in China. The US president took to Truth Social to criticise India's trade policies, describing the relationship as 'totally one sided'.
Trump wrote: 'What few people understand is that we do very little business with India, but they do a tremendous amount of business with us. The reason is that India has charged us, until now, such high tariffs, the most of any country, that our businesses are unable to sell into India.'
The outburst comes after the US imposed 50% tariffs on India, including a 25% duty for buying Russian oil. India has pushed back, with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal stating that Delhi 'will neither bow down nor ever appear weak' in its economic relationships.
Trump was largely friendly with Modi during his first term, but their relationship has soured. He recently labelled Modi the 'tariff king' after US imports faced average tariffs of 14%. Experts suggest Trump's actions have pushed Modi closer to Moscow and Beijing.
The handshake between Putin and Modi occurred at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation talks in Tianjin, hosted by Xi Jinping. Peter Navarro, Trump's trade advisor, criticised Modi for 'getting into bed with Putin and Xi Jinping' despite leading the world's largest democracy.
