Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump issued a fresh threat late on August 4 to “substantially” increase tariffs on India as a penalty, for what he alleged, for selling imported Russian oil on the open market for big profits. He did not say what the additional tariff on top of the 25 per cent which he announced earlier would be. Trump has been frustrated by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to end the Ukraine War and is directing his ire against India to pressure Moscow.
He wrote on Truth Social: “India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits.” They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA,” he said.
Trump had initially said the penalty, known as secondary tariffs, applying to all buyers of Russian apply would be 100 per cent. He moved the deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine to late this week.
News reports over the weekend quoted unidentified Indian officials as saying in response to Trump’s earlier threats that New Delhi would continue to buy Russian oil, setting off the fresh outrage from Trump. While he focused on India, he did not say if a China that also buys a substantial amount of Russian oil would face similar penalties – or other countries like Turkey would too.The US and China are negotiating a trade deal, and if Trump were to impose tariff penalties, it would complicate the talks.
According to the International Energy Agency, India bought nearly 40 per cent of its imports from Russia, and 70 per cent of Moscow’s oil exports went to India. Before the Ukraine War, India had bought only about 0.2 per cent of its needs from Russia, but it steeply increased after embargoes were placed on Russian oil, while keeping the price below the European Union-mandated price of $60 per barrel.
