On Monday, former President Donald Trump laid out his strategy to enforce expensive tariffs on products being shipped into the U.S. from India. His main focus is on India’s continued purchase of Russian oil. She made the announcement in a post on Truth Social. It follows by a day or two reports that India has decided to continue purchasing oil from Russia despite U.S. pressure to the contrary.
Trump’s statement revealed that he would impose a 25% tariff on Indian imports, emphasizing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. He continued, “India is purchasing huge quantities of Russian oil, and then selling most of that oil back onto the open market at substantial profits.” And they are indifferent that in the process they are killing hundreds, if not thousands of Ukrainians by allowing the Russian War Machine to continue.
Beyond that tariff, Trump threatened India with some other unknown unspecified punishment. He did not elaborate on what this penalty would look like. The announcement points to deepening tensions between the U.S. and India. On the one hand, India is doing everything possible to strengthen economic relations with Russia.
According to two Indian government sources who spoke to Reuters over the weekend, India remains committed to purchasing oil from Russia despite Trump’s threats. The sources confirmed that India is currently buying significant volumes of Russian oil and capitalizing on high market prices by selling much of it on the open market for considerable profits.
India’s continued purchase of Russian oil has alarmed many U.S. officials. The Indian government hadn’t replied to Times calls for comment at the time Trump made his remarks. They are equally as silent on their long-term oil-buying plan.
India’s decision to continue importing Russian oil comes amid a backdrop of global condemnation for Russia’s military actions in Ukraine. Trump’s remarks underscore a broader concern among Western leaders about countries maintaining economic relationships with Russia during a time of conflict.