Trump Rips India Over Russia Ties, Pushing Modi Into Corner (1)

As the workday wound down in New Delhi on Wednesday, most Indian trade officials were getting ready to head home. Then their phones lit up: Donald Trump hit the nation with a 25% tariff.

To many officials who had been working for months on a US-India trade deal, Trump’s announcement came as a shock. Several learned the news only when journalists called them up. They soon huddled to draft a statement, making clear that India still wanted to reach a mutually beneficial deal.

Trump, however, was only getting started. His initial post blasted India not just for high tariffs and ...