Oil, Uranium & Fickledom

“Fate can sometimes be fickle. Just

when you believe you have secured

the goose that lays the golden egg,

she back-heels you in the bollocks.”

— Ken Scott (Jack of Hearts)

United States President Donald J Trump jumped hands-, feet- and head-first into something smelly last week. Asked why he was penalizing India with impossible tariffs for procuring crude oil from Russia, especially when the US itself purchases uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear plants from that same nation, along with shiploads of other chemicals and fertilizers, Trump said he had no knowledge of such imports and that he would check. Indeed. That the leader of the Developed World doesn’t know where his own horse and dog are feeding and breeding is shocking, even scary. It also takes hypocrisy and hysterics into the realms of the macabre. That the most powerful man in the world slaps tariffs that will have a chilling impact on the lives of 20 per cent of the people on the Planet borders on the atrocious and malicious. Perhaps both.

The fact is that India began oil imports from Russia only because all other supplies were being diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict. It is also telling (and mentally taxing in today’s scheme of things) that it was the US that had encouraged India to opt for Russian oil imports, as it would “strengthen and stabilize energy markets”. Since then, India has repeatedly said oil imports from Russia are meant to ensure predictable and affordable energy costs for its domestic consumers, a necessity compelled by global uncertainty. Given this backdrop, it is unfortunate that many nations continue to criticize India’s oil purchases, even as they continue with their own trade deals with Russia.

Global Trade Held Hostage

The irony is grotesque—one person stealing a laddoo is blaming another for also liking laddoos. This is not twisted satire, but a new chapter in the book of international two-facedness. Unhappily for India, this can turn into an economic tragedy, with the consequences reverberating from Washington to New Delhi and from Beijing to Berlin. In this new stage, India is standing firm, not because it seeks conflict, but because it is demanding balance. That seems to be unsettling the West. And that is what is goading the US to shun diplomacy and use intimidation as a policy hammer. It is an act eroding the very fabric of the multilateralism that holds global commerce together. This is not a bad joke. It is the state of diplomacy in 2025. India, with its rising global stature, growing economy and focus on strategic autonomy, finds itself at the receiving end of double standards.

In a world governed by optics and not principles, power is playing substitute for policy and hypocrisy is masquerading as the new moral high. Since his return, Trump has pulled out his old playbook, making the world battle trade wars, tariff threats and economic bullying. In his first term, Trump pulled the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, restructured NAFTA into USMCA, and imposed tariffs on China, Europe and Canada. This alienated both adversaries and allies. In his second coming, he hasn’t just taken off the gloves; he has forgotten where he has kept them.

Duplicitous Relationships

There is an emerging pattern of punishing countries that refuse to bend over. India is facing retaliatory tariffs for sticking to its oil purchases from Russia. China may have faults but is openly honest in its ‘transactionalism’. Europe is in a confused paralysis. It is wedded to the US economically and militarily, but is becoming increasingly aware of the inherent duplicity in the transatlantic relationship. The US, meanwhile, is cloaking its own interests behind a veneer of righteousness.

The hypocrisy is not subtle, but systemic. The US has resumed its politics of intimidation. India, hailed as a ‘strategic partner’, is being dragged over the coals for refusing to act against its own economic interests. Its offence is buying cheaper oil from Russia to manage inflation and secure stability for 1.4 billion people. Punishment meted out by the US includes tariff hikes, a diplomatic cold shoulder and implicit threats. The message is clear. Rules don’t apply to America. But others had better comply.

India’s foreign policy has changed from ‘reactionary’ to ‘assertively self-driven’. The bottomline is that New Delhi is not toeing the Western line. It is charting its own course, refusing to condemn Russia at the West’s behest, engaging with China despite tensions, and refusing to pick sides in polarising global contests organized by the US. For Washington, such autonomy is inconvenient as it expects alignment, not free-thinking. Strategic partnership must come with appended obedience, the US feels. That India continues to do business with Russia, expands ties with Iran, builds platforms with the Global South and refuses to be economically bullied are threatening the West’s monopoly over moral posturing.

Many Historical Parallels

India’s struggle against double standards is not new. In colonial times, Britain looted Indian resources while claiming to civilize it. Today, the West demands ‘shared values’ but is working to undermine India’s stability. Be it Churchill denying grain to famine-hit Bengal or the US delaying aid to India during the 1962 China war, history is full of instances where moral pretence masked self-interest.

In the 21st century, India is being cited for importing discounted Russian oil, while European countries are ramping up LNG imports from Middle Eastern autocracies. Japan continues to import energy from Russia without scrutiny. Israel maintains robust ties with Moscow. But it is India which is getting the sermon and the punishment. This is not a rules-based order but a hypocrisy-based hierarchy. The tariffs are draconian. Steel and aluminium are being hit, there are barriers on pharmaceuticals and caps on immigration. Under Trump 2.0, there are also renewed threats to the H-1B visa regime.

Every measure is explained away as ‘policy reform’, but the pattern is unmistakable. It is economic oppression in the garb of regulatory enforcement. This same approach mirrors America’s treatment of other independent-minded states. Turkey has faced sanctions for its S-400 deal with Russia. Brazil faces punitive tariffs for its Amazon policies. Canada was not spared during the NAFTA renegotiations. The US is no longer an ally to anyone, only a fair-weather friend.

The Future is Beckoning

The world is changing, India is too. A young population, a growing digital economy and a geopolitical worldview are seeing India represent not just a market, but a model too. The US, despite its military and financial might, must acknowledge the shift. But the betel nut is hard to chew and spit out. For long, America has conflated power with principle and influence with intimidation. Sparing no nation, the US is now viewing every act of sovereignty as defiance and branding every independent choice as provocation. This is not sustainable. And this does not beget amiable partnerships.

The uranium versus oil irony may be symbolic, but it is a symptom of a deeper malaise. The US is unable to accept that other nations—especially one as diverse and promising as India—can think for themselves. From that inability to accept change are born tariffs, double tariffs, threats, tweet threats, insults and tantrums.

The US recently warned nations engaging in ‘unfair’ practices with its ‘non-friends’, singling out India, Turkey and Brazil. Within weeks, tariff hikes were announced on all three nations. No investigations, no consultations. Just decrees, press releases and economic retaliation, and all seemingly on a whim. This is not how superpowers behave. This is how empires crumble.

Let’s talk India. It will continue to buy oil where it is cheapest. It will engage where it finds value. It will partner on its terms, not someone else’s preconditions. It will continue to call out the surreal irony of a world order where uranium deals are holy, but oil discounts are heresy. Sure, this may get the tweets flowing. But the world has to move on with the more serious issues, such as survival and growth.

The writer is a veteran journalist and communications specialist. He can be reached on narayanrajeev2006@gmail.com. Views expressed are personal