India’s largest shoemaker Farida Group had already staked out the land — a 150-acre plot in southern Tamil Nadu — for a sprawling new export facility. Then came the blow from Washington: President Donald Trump announced he was doubling tariffs on Indian exports to 50%.

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton said Wednesday that President Trump’s tariffs may push India further away from the U.S. and into deeper alliances with Russia and China. The president previously threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on India for purchasing oil from the Kremlin absent of similar punishments for China,

India is inching closer to Beijing. After US President Donald Trump doubled down with a 50% tariff on Indian goodspunishing New Delhi over discounted Russian oil purchasesPrime Minister Narendra Modi is quietly reopening the China playbook.