New Delhi, Sept. 13 -- US President Donald Trump, before he dialled down the unseemly carping against India, has demanded that the European bloc and the G7 impose 100% tariffs on India-besides China-for the duo's purchases of Russian oil. Washington, he said, would mirror such tariffs if they are imposed by Europe on the two countries.

It's unlikely that any of this will happen.

Now, the reality is that in its dealings with New Delhi, Brussels has been stressing how much it recognises the urgency of a "strategic upgrade" with India, especially at a time of highly polarising US-China dynamic. What it wants is to put together coalitions that can break that divide, given it has to contend with Europe's security and economic dependencies on...