Trump called PM Modi four times in recent times, he didn’t pick up, claims German media amid trade row

“Trump calls, Modi doesn’t pick up” read the news headline by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, a German newspaper, reporting that the US President Donald Trump has called the Indian Prime Minister four times in recent times, amid the ongoing tariff row.

Notably, the US has imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods, the largest of any country outside of Brazil.

The copy of the newspaper article was shared by Thorsten Benner, co-founder and director of the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) in Berlin.

“So far, the US president has overwhelmed all opponents in the tariff dispute. Not India. Instead, the country is turning back to China - and (is) ignoring old wounds,” the subtext of the article read, originally in German.

The article, written by Hendrik Ankenbrand, Winand von Petersdorff, and Gustav Theile, claims that PM Modi is avoiding the same trap as Vietnam, where Trump announced a trade deal on social media hours after a telephonic conversation with General Secretary Tô Lâm.

In the process, India has moved away from Trump's process of imposing tariffs and then heading on for negotiations, where Trump looks triumphant in the end, as per the article.

Notably, the USA had earlier imposed a 25% tariff on India, on which Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff over India importing Russian oil. The tariffs will come into effect from Wednesday.