India is no longer playing nice on U.S. terms and it is not on the 'Fool Around And Find Out' or FAFO side of global power. As Ian Bremmer puts it, India now sits firmly in the TACO spectrum, short for 'Trump Always Chickens Out,' a category for countries strong enough to push back because they know the United States, especially under Trump, folds when challenged.
With no trade deal on the table and no desperation for one, India is asserting strategic independence and gaining ground.
"India is more on the TACO scale," said Ian Bremmer, founder of Eurasia Group, in an interview with NDTV's Vishnu Som. He described a power spectrum where FAFO, short for "fool around and find out," includes countries like Venezuela and Ukraine that suffer consequences when they challenge stronger powers.
TACO, he said, refers to countries like Russia, China and increasingly India. These are nations that operate on their own terms and are not easily pressured into alignment.
"Trump always chickens out when challenged by real strength," Bremmer said. "And Prime Minister Modi knows that. He has been in power for over a decade and he is likely to outlast Trump. India is growing at seven to eight percent this year so trade ties with the United States are not critical. It is not going to break India the way it could Canada or the Europeans."
Bremmer added that Modi faces no urgency to respond to Washington's demands. "It is not urgent for Modi to respond to Trump in the way he wants."
#NDTVExclusive | "Countries divided between FAFO (Fool Around And Find Out) and TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out). On FAFO side, you have Venezuelans and Ukrainians and on the TACO side, you have Chinese and Russians: Eurasia Group Founder and President Ian Bremmer (@ianbremmer)… pic.twitter.com/9EY19zUGZc
— NDTV (@ndtv) January 19, 2026
Unlike countries such as Canada or parts of Europe that depend heavily on U.S. trade, India's economic trajectory provides rare strategic freedom. That strength was underscored on Monday when the International Monetary Fund raised India's GDP forecast for fiscal year 2026 to 7.3 percent, up from 6.6 percent.
The IMF cited easing inflation, strong private investment and robust demand as key drivers. Though growth may slow to 6.4 percent in fiscal years 2027 and 2028, India's long-term fundamentals remain strong.
