President Donald Trump shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they begin a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on June 26, 2017.

India officially entered the ongoing global trade war in June when it announced retaliatory tariffs against Washington's steel and aluminum import duties. If implemented, the South Asian nation risks a targeted response from President Donald Trump's White House.

New Delhi's proposed tariff hikes on 29 U.S. products — including almonds, apples, walnuts and certain stainless steel products — are worth $241 million and were meant to go into effect on Aug. 4.

But Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government decided last week to delay the hikes, and may postpone tariffs until next month amid ongoing negotiations with U.S. officials, according to local news outlets.

If the two countries cannot reach a deal, New Delhi's tariffs will go ahead as planned — a move that could push Washington to respond with India-specific actions, similiar to what it's done with China. That, in turn, could spell trouble ahead for Modi as he campaigns for re-election next year, analysts say.

If the White House turns its attention to India's biggest exports to the U.S. — such as diamonds, seafood, auto parts and medicine — that could be risky for Modi and the Indian economy, said Amitendu Palit, a senior fellow specializing in trade and economic policy at the National University of Singapore.

Trump's team could also pressure on New Delhi to open up its agriculture and dairy industries, which are politically sensitive sectors in India's rural-based economy, Palit continued.

The world's largest democracy is known for high levies on agricultural imports as a means to safeguard the livelihood of its massive farmer population. Recent droughts and falling commodity prices have also triggered a hike in Indian import duties. In February, the government doubled levies on sugar to 100 percent, while chickpeas saw an increase to 40 percent.

The U.S. has previously urged India to keep agricultural tariffs low but since India's tit-for-tat measures mostly focus on agriculture, Washington now has a fresh opportunity to up the ante.

India boasts competitive advantages over the U.S. on services such as information technology, and its service exports are already under threat as the Trump administration tightens H-1B visa rules. Scores of Indian IT professionals are presently employed in the world's largest economy through the H-1B visa, and stricter procedures on issuance could limit the number of Indians working there.