President Donald Trump has jeopardised decades of US’s efforts to bring India away from Russia and China, his former aide John Bolton has said, pointing to the hefty tariffs the US has imposed on India for buying Russian oil. The former National Security Adviser called out Trump’s bias towards China over India and said it could be an “enormous mistake”.

Speaking to CNN, he called it ironic the secondary tariff, intended to hurt Russia, could push India closer to Russia and China, and perhaps make them negotiate together against the US. 

“Trump’s leniency on the Chinese and heavy-handed tariffs on India jeopardise decades of American efforts to bring India away from Russia and China,” the former aide of the president asserted.

US foreign policy expert Christopher Padilla, a former US trade official, has also warned the tariffs could pose a risk of long-term damage to India-US ties. It could raise questions if the US is a reliable partner, as the tariffs would remain in memory, he feared.

Flagging the biased tariffs in an Op-Ed for ‘The Hill’, Bolton had earlier said Trump’s leniency towards Beijing could be seen as sacrificing the US’s strategic interests in this “zeal for a deal” with President Xi Jinping. “The White House seems hea­ded towards more lenient tre­atment for Beijing on tariff rates and other metrics than it imposed on Delhi. If so, it will be a potentially enormous mi­stake,” his opinion piece read.

Trump destroying himself: US economist 

Trump is “destroying himself” by launching a trade war against the rest of the world, US economist and John Hopkins University Professor Steve Hanke has said. The tariff decision is “absolutely rubbish” and merely “resting on sand”, he said, adding, “The economics is just all wrong.”

“The main thing is to follow Napoleon’s advice,” he said, “never interfere with an enemy in the process of destroying oneself. I think Trump is destroying himself,” Professor Hanke said. 

“I think in the case of India, PM Narendra Modi and EAM S Jaishankar should keep their cards close to the chest and wait for a little while. The reason is Trump’s house of cards will collapse. The economic tremors for tariffs are resting on sand,” he added.  

Professor Hanke claim­ed there was a huge trade deficit in the US since the spending by the Americans is more than the gross national product.

“So the economics is just all wrong. Trump’s tariff economics is absolutely rubbish,” he said.