India may pause plans to buy US arms after Trump’s tariffs: Report

India is pausing plans to procure caller weapons and craft from the United States successful evident retaliation for President Donald Trump’s tariff hike connected its exports this week, according to quality bureau Reuters, citing 3 Indian officials.

Two of the officials acquainted with the substance told Reuters that India had been readying to nonstop Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Washington successful the coming weeks for an announcement connected immoderate of the purchases, but that the travel had been cancelled, the quality bureau reported.

Following work of the communicative connected Friday, India’s authorities issued a connection it attributed to a Ministry of Defence root describing quality reports of a intermission successful the talks arsenic “false and fabricated”. The connection besides said procurement was progressing arsenic per “extant procedures”.

Relations betwixt the 2 countries nosedived this week aft Trump imposed an further 25 percent tariff connected Indian goods connected Wednesday arsenic punishment for New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil, which helium said meant the state was backing Russia’s penetration of Ukraine.

That raised the full work connected Indian exports to 50 percent – among the highest of immoderate US trading partner.

Trump has a past of reversing people connected tariffs and India has said it remains actively engaged successful discussions with Washington. One of the officials who spoke to Reuters said the defence purchases could spell up erstwhile India had clarity connected tariffs and the absorption of bilateral ties, but “just not arsenic soon arsenic they were expected to”.

Written instructions had not been fixed to intermission the purchases, different authoritative said, indicating that India had the enactment to rapidly reverse course, though determination was “no guardant question astatine slightest for now”.

New Delhi, which has forged a adjacent concern with the US successful caller years, has said it is being unfairly targeted and that Washington and its European allies proceed to commercialized with Moscow erstwhile it is successful their interest.

Reuters reported that discussions connected India’s purchases of Stryker combat vehicles, made by General Dynamics Land Systems, and Javelin antitank missiles, developed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, had been paused owed to the tariffs.

Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had successful February announced plans to prosecute procurement and associated production of those items.

Singh had besides been readying to denote the acquisition of six Boeing P8I reconnaissance craft and enactment systems for the Indian Navy during his now-cancelled trip, 2 of the radical said.

Talks implicit procuring the craft successful a projected $3.6bn woody were astatine an precocious stage, according to the officials.

Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics referred queries to the Indian and US governments. Raytheon did not instrumentality a Reuters petition for comment.

Strained relations

India’s deepening information narration with the US, which is fuelled by their shared strategical rivalry with China, was heralded by galore US analysts arsenic 1 of the cardinal areas of foreign-policy advancement successful the archetypal Trump administration.

New Delhi is the world’s second-largest arms importer, and Russia has traditionally been its apical supplier. India has successful caller years, however, shifted to importing from Western powers similar France, Israel and the US, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute deliberation tank.

The displacement successful suppliers was driven partially by constraints connected Russia’s quality to export arms, which it is utilising heavy successful its penetration of Ukraine. Some Russian weapons person besides performed poorly successful the battlefield, according to Western analysts.

The broader US-India defence partnership, which includes quality sharing and associated subject exercises, continues without hiccups, 1 of the Indian officials said.

India besides remains unfastened to scaling backmost connected lipid imports from Russia and is unfastened to making deals elsewhere, including the US, if it tin get akin prices, according to 2 different Indian sources speaking to Reuters.

Trump’s threats and rising anti-US sentiment successful India person “made it politically hard for Modi to marque the displacement from Russia to the US”, 1 of the radical said. Nonetheless, discounts connected the landing outgo of Russian lipid person shrunk to the lowest since 2022.

While the rupture successful US-India ties was abrupt, determination person been strains successful the relationship. New Delhi has repeatedly rebutted Trump’s assertion that the US brokered a ceasefire betwixt India and Pakistan aft 4 days of warring betwixt the nuclear-armed neighbours successful May. Trump besides hosted Pakistan’s service main astatine the White House successful the weeks pursuing the conflict.

In caller months, Moscow has been actively pitching India connected buying caller defence technologies similar its S-500 surface-to-air rocket system, according to 1 of the Indian officials, arsenic good arsenic a Russian root acquainted with the talks.

India currently does not spot a request for caller arms purchases from Moscow, two Indian officials said.

But India is improbable to wean itself disconnected Russian weapons wholly arsenic the decades-long concern betwixt the 2 powers means Indian subject systems volition proceed to necessitate Moscow’s support, 1 of the officials said.

The Russian embassy successful New Delhi did not instantly respond to a Reuters petition for comment.