Can't blame Trump.

"Donald Trump, the United States' president-elect, has once again fired a warning shot at India over its high tariffs on American goods. This latest warning comes months after Trump called India a 'very big abuser' of tariffs, highlighting the persistent friction in the US-India trade dynamic." That could be detrimental to our balance of trade because, "In 2023-24, imports from the US stood at $42.2 billion, while exports to the US reached $77.52 billion, making America India's largest export destination." ET. As it is, "India's merchandise trade deficit in November widened to an all-time high of $37.84 billion from $27.1 billion in October. "A widening trade deficit may put further pressure on India's currency, which weakened 0.5% against the dollar last month, marking its worst month since March." ET. There could be other sources of friction with the US. In September 2018, "Walmart's acquisition of 77% stake in Flipkart has made the income tax department richer by over Rs 100 billion after the American giant agreed to pay all dues in consultation with the government." TOI. In December 2018, "When I published recently that Walmart had invested $16 billion in India's Flipkart e-commerce platform," "My worries were confirmed by a recent decision by the Indian government that will bar foreign companies from selling products from affiliated companies on their Indian shopping sites. It will also prevent them from offering special discounts and exclusive products." Forbes. Changing rules after the sale has gone through is underhand, immoral and projects India as untrustworthy. "Walmart has already spent nearly two decades waiting for local regulations to become a little more welcoming of its investment dollars." "On paper, the rule is all about safeguarding livelihoods of the kirana stores," but "In reality, though, mom-and-pop shops are being shielded only from the Americans," giving an advantage to Reliance Industries of Mukesh Ambani. "But a delayed Flipkart IPO could just become a lightning rod for the incoming Trump administration to negotiate hard for US firms' access to Indian retail." ET. Highly justified and righteous. Trump could really hurt our most tender spot. "After months of sustained increase, last month's (November) services exports have been provisionally estimated at $35.7 billion, compared with $32.1 billion of merchandise or goods exports." "Currently, software is the big daddy of services, accounting for 47% of exports last year, with nearly 70% heading to the US." TOI. Europe became rich by looting its colonies and the US became rich by employing slave labor and they have become 'Master States', wrote Diva Jain. "While military strength is important, the entry ticket to this elite club of 'Master Nations' is governed by economic influence." After World War II, the US helped to rebuild Europe, including Germany, through the Marshall Plan, and helped Japan by providing security and making it an exporting power. That's why the US has so many friends and is so powerful. We don't play fair. That makes us vulnerable. Can't blame Trump.