Trump Slaps Tariffs, India Cuts to Zero Amid Cozy Photo Op with China and Russia

At a summit designed to show unity between America’s adversaries, one thing became crystal clear President Donald Trump’s bold leadership is working.

During the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin, the world watched as Chinese dictator Xi Jinping, Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi embraced for the cameras. The image was meant to signal an alliance among three of the world’s largest nations two of them enemies of the United States, and one, India, walking a dangerous line.

But Trump was two steps ahead.

Just weeks earlier, President Trump signed an executive order imposing massive 50% tariffs on Indian goods in response to New Delhi’s ongoing purchase of Russian oil. He didn’t mince words: “India’s importation of Russian Federation oil undermines U.S. efforts to counter Russia’s harmful activities.” Worse, India has been reselling that Russian oil for profit, directly funding Putin’s war machine.

Trump took it a step further by authorizing an additional 25% tariff on Indian imports starting August 27, sending a clear message: America will not tolerate nations trying to play both sides while profiting off our enemies.

Now, just days after Modi stood arm-in-arm with Xi and Putin in what some saw as a betrayal of his increasingly warm ties with the U.S. Trump announced that India had offered to reduce tariffs on American products to zero.

“India has cut their tariffs on U.S. goods to ZERO,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday. “We’re finally getting a fair deal. America First!”

In short: Trump applies pressure, and India folds.

Contrast this with the Biden era, when America routinely got walked over on trade, energy, and foreign policy. Joe Biden and his handlers allowed China to expand its influence, Russia to grow its war chest, and India to play the middle without consequences. Under Trump, that era of weakness is over.

While the media obsesses over awkward photo ops and symbolic summits, the real news is this:

• India is backing down on tariffs, because they know Trump won’t hesitate to defend U.S. interests.

• Trump’s America First trade policies are yielding real-world results not just talk.

• The U.S. is regaining leverage, even with countries trying to hedge their bets between Washington, Moscow, and Beijing.

Yes, Modi showed up to China for the first time in seven years. Yes, he embraced America’s adversaries. But behind the scenes, Trump is securing wins that actually matter lowering barriers for U.S. exports, hitting back at Russian oil profiteering, and reestablishing America's role as a dominant economic force.

This is what real leadership looks like. Strategic, tough, and focused on results not optics.

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