The Russia-India-China alliance is showing renewed strength amid ongoing US economic pressures, particularly tariff hikes targeting India. In early August 2025, US President Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Indian imports, citing India’s continued purchase of Russian oil, a move India condemned as unfair and unjustified. This tariff increase follows prior 25% duties and threatens to severely impact India-US trade relations and India’s export economy. In response, Russia, India, and China have been signaling a push toward revitalizing their trilateral strategic grouping known as the Russia-India-China (RIC) troika, originally conceived in the 1990s to counter Western dominance. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India later this month, coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s planned participation at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China, where Modi is also expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. These developments underline the deepening of India-Russia strategic ties despite US pressures, with leaders reaffirming commitments to bilateral partnerships and strategic autonomy. China has also openly criticized the US tariffs on India and signaled support for the RIC format, reaffirming its interest in collaboration among the three BRICS founding members. The US tariff strategy, aimed at isolating Russia economically, appears to be prompting closer alignment among these major Eurasian powers, challenging US geopolitical interests while strengthening the Russia-India-China axis amid contested global trade and security dynamics. This evolving alliance underscores a significant geopolitical shift amid escalating tensions over the Russia-Ukraine conflict and US-China rivalries.