A lot has been said about the improving India-US relations in recent times. Many have declared India-US relations as one of the most, if not the most, important relationships in the 21st Century. There were sufficient signals towards the end of the Joe Biden Presidency that all was not right between the two countries. And now, Donald Trump has hit India with an additional 25% Tariffs.
BREAKING: President Donald J. Trump signs Executive Order imposing an additional 25% tariff on India in "response to its continued purchase of Russian oil" says White House
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) August 6, 2025
There are already consultants at American Think Tanks and Indian ones funded by the USA, scrambling in well lit rooms, working furiously on their laptops, attempting to conjure some justification as to why India should go out of its way to accommodate Trump’s wishes. While the American Think Tanks want India to bend, their Indian counterparts want India to crawl.
Nevertheless, there is something that both seem to miss. Donald Trump has not singled out India as his target. He has not chosen to bully India specifically. Trump has treated India the same manner in which he has treated core American allies such as Japan and in Europe. Indeed, only Israel has escaped such actions. But then again, Trump has always been deferential towards Israel, contrary to the fevered dreams of White Nationalists that propelled him to power initially.
No, it is far more than that. It is something far more significant than that. And the implications of that will reverberate in Geopolitics for decades to come.
Turbo America
There is a hypothesis that has been simmering in the fringes of the internet about the course that the USA has chosen to charter for itself. In an article on Substack as far back as April 2022, writer Niccolo Soldo (unclear if it is his real name or otherwise) described the idea of ‘Turbo America’, “The USA and its quest for Full-Spectrum Dominance across the globe.”
Niccolo Soldo claimed, “By combining its economic strength with its military, its soft power, and its technological advantages to dominate and micro-manage its Americanizing client states while engaging in a proxy war with the nuclear-armed Russians AND moving towards cutting China down to size in East Asia and the Pacific, the USA is on the path towards Full-Spectrum Dominance. The only question that remains to be seen is whether they will succeed.”
The article was written over 3 years ago. So, in hindsight, there are quite a few things that Soldo has obviously gotten wrong. But there are plenty of other things that he has gotten right. For instance, it is quite obvious that the USA under Donald Trump has attempted to establish a full-spectrum dominance. Donald Trump has bullied Europe, its client states such as Japan and destroyed Iran’s sphere of influence. The last among the three he has Israel to thank for but then Israel did so armed with weapons supplied by the USA.
It is in that quest that Donald Trump is attempting to bully India into submission. So far, India has held its fort. Perhaps, India can hold on sufficiently long enough to destroy American delusions. The only reason India has succeeded in holding its fort is because Narendra Modi dominates Indian Polity at the moment. His governing alliance also has a comfortable majority in the Parliament.
The failure in China
Donald Trump, in the initial days of his Tariff Tantrum, made China his most significant target. Those were the days when even his most zealous detractors found some merit in his actions. Those days have long since past.
The Business World realised very quickly that the USA was in no position to challenge China economically. Trump realised that before long. It became evident soon enough that Trump is desperate for a detente with China. For Trump, salvaging his own ego is of supreme importance. Soon enough, after demonstrating the depth of their economic might, China gave Trump a way out. Trump was only too eager to accept that.
That was bad news for his allies. Having secured a detente with China, Trump could now dedicate his full attention towards subjugating American allies. So far, that is exactly what he has chosen to do. Europe and Japan have suffered the brunt of his obnoxious conduct. Now, it is India’s turn.
America Alone
Trump is likely to discover that serfs do not like it when the reality of their situation is pointed out to them. Yes, American allies are just that. But public humiliations that reveal to the naked eye what is known in private circles will not go down well with them.
Trump has given the clearest message possible through his antics. The USA does not intend to treat their allies as equals anymore. It needs that facade no longer. It will no longer cater to the charade. American allies can either choose to eat the humble pie in silence or in disgrace. Those are the only choices Trump has left them.
India is not an American ally. So, it can afford to not eat the pie altogether. What are the consequences India will have to suffer? That remains to be seen. Indians should not be so arrogant to believe that India will suffer no consequences at all. Rather, they should believe that the cost is worth paying.
The larger question for the US Government is what is the price they are willing to pay for the quest of Turbo America. Till what point are they willing to go, beyond which they will beat a hasty retreat. They realised that point pretty quickly with China.
Turbo America implies that the USA will stand alone. It implies that the USA is willing to risk making enemies of the rest of the world. The USA believes that it will emerge as the victor. Conventional wisdom suggests that they cannot. But it’s the USA that we are talking about here. It is the only country that can even realistically attempt such a thing, if nothing else.
Turbo America does not need Trump
For all his tall claims, Trump is only continuing the policies of the Biden administration. Whatever he said before the elections is meaningless. He has continued the aid to Ukraine. The situation in Israel is the same as it was under Biden. Trump even permitted Netanyahu to strike Iran, something unthinkable under Biden.
All of this only proves beyond reasonable doubt that the American Foreign Policy Elites are not fundamentally against the Tariffs. They are well on board the Turbo America agenda. It also proves that US Presidents are not in charge of government policy in the sphere of international relations. US Presidents rarely are. The powers that be decide the course that the USA should follow.
Democracy is the mask American Foreign Policy elites wear to avoid accountability. If a particular policy fails, the entire blame is placed at the foot of the sitting US President. Americans then outrage against the President and elect a new one who promises to be different. Then the new President does the exact same thing.
And on and on the cycle goes. Turbo America does not need Trump. It never did. If their agenda fails, Trump will take the blame. Its Foreign Policy Elite will simply force the next President to bend to their agenda.
