Donald Trump has asserted that India has stopped buying oil from Russia, characterizing this as a loss for Russian President Vladimir Putin. These remarks came in the context of recent US actions, including the announcement of a 50% tariff on certain Indian imports. Trump stated that this tariff was a direct response to India’s continued trade with Russia, indicating potential consequences. These comments preceded a meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska, which concluded without any notable agreements.
In an interview, Trump highlighted that Russia had lost a major customer in India. He suggested that if he needed to impose secondary sanctions, he would. It was noted that if this were to occur, it would be devastating to Russia. Despite the threats and the imposition of tariffs, India has continued to import oil from Russia, with current imports from Russia constituting approximately 35-40% of India’s overall oil imports.
Leading up to the summit in Alaska, Trump had warned about the possibility of additional tariffs on India in the event that the meeting did not yield any positive outcomes. This has raised questions about whether further tariffs will be applied to India. Earlier, on August 6th, Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on India, citing the country’s oil purchases from Russia as the rationale. This followed a 25% tariff that was imposed on July 30th, raising the total US tariff on Indian goods to 50%. The additional 25% tariff is set to take effect on August 27th. India has accused the US and the European Union of unfairly targeting it, despite their own ongoing import of crucial goods from Russia.