<h1>U.S.-India relations strain over India's Russian oil imports and new 50% U.S. tariff, risking trade retaliation and talks</h1> A U.S. president publicly described bilateral relations with India as 'special' despite recent tensions over India's purchases of Russian oil and a recently announced 50% U.S. tariff on Indian goods. Administration officials framed India's oil imports as indirectly funding Russia's war and warned of job losses from India's tariff schedule. The dispute involves diplomatic statements, social-media claims about shifting geopolitical alignments, and public trade-policy measures that could prompt negotiations, retaliatory measures or dispute settlement proceedings under international trade rules; officials signalled ongoing trade talks and potential diplomatic avenues to resolve the standoff.