In a tweet, President Trump hinted at the possibility of new tariffs on Indian imports, saying that the US would no longer stand for India's overly aggressive tariff regime.

To be sure, there are ulterior motives here, trade is probably a secondary issue. With Narendra Modi emboldened by his recent re-election, India has decided to move ahead with the purchase of a Russian missile defense system - which, by law, gives Washington the right to slap sanctions on India, which it has threatened to do - and its also refused to yield to America's ban on Iranian oil exports.