New Delhi, Aug. 3 -- Trump 2.0 was expected to be good for India. But after early promise, ties have unexpectedly soured. Mint examines the sudden reversal, what India should do next, and whether recent developments could strengthen the Russia-India-China (RIC) axis.

Yes. On 27 June, US President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on goods imported from India, along with an unspecified penalty for New Delhi's continued defence and energy trade with Russia. His rhetoric stung even more than the tariffs. Trump accused India of having some of the "highest tariffs in the world" and "the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers." The next day, he escalated further, saying that Russia and India "can take their dead economies d...