Trump has isolated India in South Asia with his tariff war. In his recent statement Trump said Russia and India can take their dead economies down together
He also threatened to increase the tariffs imposed on India if India does trade with Russia. Threatening India, he reduced tariffs on countries surrounding India. He reduced tariffs on Pakistan, an enemy of India, from 29% to 19%. He reduced tariffs on Bangladesh, which does not have close relations with India, from 35% to 20%. He reduced tariffs on Sri Lanka from 30% to 20%.
After China began to expand its power in Sri Lanka, the US had made it a tradition to inform India when making decisions regarding Sri Lanka. But Trump ignored India by reducing the tariffs imposed on Sri Lanka, breaking that tradition. It seems that Trump has tried to isolate India, known as the powerhouse of South Asia, and win over the surrounding countries. Trump made this attempt to confuse India and to use India against Russia.
It is a question of what Sri Lanka will do in the midst of the trade war between India and the US, which is centered on Russia. Even though it is pro-China, if a Rajapaksa government was in power at this time, the Rajapaksa government would have chosen Russia against the US. Although the JVP government, which had close ties with Russia, should have stood up for India by taking the side of Russia in this instance, which they failed to do. it is clear that the JVP government has become a pro-US government. Anura Kumara gave a signal to the US by rejecting the invitation of the Russian President to attend the BRICS summit when he became President. When Gotabaya’s government went bankrupt, it asked India for help to go to the IMF. Ranil’s government also asked India for help to get the IMF facility. The reason for this was the power that India had to influence the IMF through the US.
Given Trump’s threat to India and Trump’s concessions to Sri Lanka, Anura’s government may feel that it no longer needs India’s support to deal with the US. Both India and United States need each other for survival. India will soon resolve its tariff war with the US. It will be to Anura’s government’s advantage to decide where Sri Lanka should stand in this war.
