India, Jan. 6 -- Donald Trump has reiterated his tariff threat against India. The context is Russian oil. The fresh comments are as hypocritical as the additional tariffs were. Countries such as China do not face any such penalties. Trump's attitude to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict itself is also whimsical, perhaps even ambivalent. His approach to the rest of the world, as the latest US intervention in Venezuela shows, is reminiscent of the Wild West, not the hegemon of a rules-based global order.

Where does all this leave India? What is the country's best response? There are no easy answers to this question. An amicable solution will require a pragmatic approach based on ground realities. Verbal provocations, unless they are match...