Staff Correspondent
According to the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine, in the past few weeks, U.S. President Donald Trump tried calling Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at least four times, but Modi did not respond even once.
The report suggests that Modi was reportedly displeased with the U.S. imposing the maximum 50% tariff on Indian goods. Earlier, Trump had added a 25% tariff on Indian products and an additional 25% due to oil imports from Russia, effective from August 27.
Thorsten Benner, Director of the Berlin-based Global Public Policy Institute, wrote on social media that despite repeated calls from Trump, Modi declined them—reflecting both his displeasure and caution.
The article notes that Trump often leverages other countries’ dependence on the U.S. market to extract advantages. However, Modi, since his first term, has maintained cooperative relations without compromising India’s economic interests, and thus did not want to fall into a hasty “trap” like Vietnam.