As US-India relations began to sour earlier this year, drug-control experts briefed officials in the Trump administration on how the South Asian nation fit into the murky trade in chemicals used to make fentanyl.
Among the topics of discussion was whether India’s growing role in supply chains of the deadly opioid could be used to justify new tariffs on the nation’s goods, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the consultations were confidential. The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment on those discussions.
Ultimately, it was India’s purchases of Russian ...