Donald Trump Vows To 'Substantially Raise' Tariffs On India Over Russian Oil Trade

Donald Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said that he will "substantially raise" the tariffs paid by India to the United States. He also stated that India is not only buying oil from Russia, but also selling it for big profits.

PM Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump (Credit: File Photo/IANS))

United States President Donald Trump on Monday stated that since India is buying "massive amounts" of oil from Russia, and selling it, he will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the U.S. This comes days after he imposed 25 percent tariffs on Indian goods and an unspecified penalty over purchases from Moscow.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, "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." 

Trump's Tariff On India

Trump had previously announced that the tariffs would be imposed starting August 1.

"Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

"Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia's largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE - ALL THINGS NOT GOOD! INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST 1st," the US President added.

According to IANS, India was among the first countries to start trade negotiations with the US on tariffs, and Trump had repeatedly said that an agreement was imminent.

India-US Partnership 

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said that India and the US share a comprehensive global strategic partnership anchored in shared interests, democratic values, and robust people-to-people ties, with the partnership having weathered several transitions and challenges.

While responding to a question on India-US ties in the wake of newly imposed tariffs by Washington, during a weekly media briefing in New Delhi, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India remains focused on the agenda that the two countries have committed to and is confident that the ties will continue to move forward. 

"India and the United States share a comprehensive global strategic partnership anchored in shared interests, democratic values, and robust people-to-people ties. This partnership has weathered several transitions and challenges. We remain focused on the substantive agenda that the two countries have committed to and are confident that the relationship will continue to move forward," the MEA spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, earlier, Trump had also said that India would face an additional tariff penalty for buying Russian energy. He had set the penalty, known as secondary tariffs, across the board at 100 per cent for all who are buying Russian energy if Moscow did not reach a ceasefire with Ukraine.

(with agencies' inputs)