Moscow has, meanwhile, strongly backed India as India-US trade tensions spiral out of control.
New Delhi/New York: Launching his second tirade against India in two days, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday declared that New Delhi had not been a good trading partner and announced that he would raise the tariffs on India “very substantially” over the next 24 hours because it is buying Russian oil.
Moscow has, meanwhile, strongly backed India as India-US trade tensions spiral out of control.
The latest attack by Trump came just hours after New Delhi hit back at the United States and the European Union for the “unjustified and unreasonable targeting” of India for Russian oil imports when both are still trading with Russia, and had vowed that India would take “all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security”.
New Delhi is in “wait and watch” mode but its patience is wearing thin after repeated outbursts by Trump. Nevertheless, India is hoping the strong institutional and bipartisan mechanisms that have helped India-US bilateral ties flourish for over two decades will rescue the relationship, but as of now this doesn’t seem to be happening.
“With India, what people don’t like to say about India, they’re the highest tariff nation. They have the highest tariff of anybody. We do very, very little business with India because their tariffs are so high. India has not been a good trading partner, because they do a lot of business with us, but we don’t do business with them. So, we settled on 25 per cent (tariff on India), but I think I’m going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they’re buying Russian oil. They’re fuelling the war machine. And if they’re going to do that, then I’m not going to be happy,” President Trump said in an interview with CNBC Squawk Box.
When asked about the trade negotiations with India, President Trump said the “sticking point” with India is that its tariffs are too high, and declared: “Now I will say this, India went from the highest tariffs ever, they will give us zero tariffs… But that’s not good enough, because of what they’re doing with oil.” This came after President Trump lambasted India on Monday evening (IST) for its Russian oil imports and declared the US would “substantially raise the tariff”.
He said India was selling Russian oil in the open market for huge profits and that it “did not care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian war machine”. The US is set to impose unspecified penalties on India for import of military hardware and oil from Russia. On August 1, President Trump had signed an executive order titled “Further Modifying the Reciprocal Tariff Rates”, raising tariffs for over five dozen countries, including a steep 25 per cent for India. The executive order, however, did not mention the “penalty” that Mr Trump said India will have to pay because of its purchases of Russian military equipment and energy.
The US President began his latest round of diatribes directed at India last week when he had posted on Truth Social: “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let’s keep it that way.”
Criticising India’s defence deals and oil procurement from Russia, the US President said that India has “always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia” and that they “are Russia’s largest buyer of energy, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine”.
Lashing out at the US and backing India, Moscow on Tuesday criticised “attempts to force countries to stop trade relations with Russia”. Hitting out at Mr Trump, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “We do not consider such statements to be legitimate. We believe that sovereign countries should have, and have the right to choose their own trade partners, partners in trade and economic cooperation. And to choose those trade and economic cooperation regimes that are in the interests of a particular country.”
The external affairs ministry had said late on Monday evening: “India has been targeted by the United States and the European Union for importing oil from Russia after the commencement of the Ukraine conflict. In fact, India began importing from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict. The United States at that time actively encouraged such imports by India for strengthening global energy markets’ stability. India’s imports are meant to ensure predictable and affordable energy costs to the Indian consumer. They are a necessity compelled by the global market situation. However, it is revealing that the very nations criticising India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia. Unlike our case, such trade is not even a vital national compulsion.”
Referring to US double standards, the MEA said: “Where the United States is concerned, it continues to import from Russia uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear industry, palladium for its EV industry, fertilisers as well as chemicals.” New Delhi had warned: “In this background, the targeting of India is unjustified and unreasonable. Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security.”
