Trump Warns of Substantial Tariff Hike over India's Purchase of Russia Oil

TMTPOST -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday ratcheted up pressure on India over New Delhi’s purchases of sanctioned Russian oil.

Credit：China Central Television

Trump in a social media post on Monday warned of substantial tariff hike as India has purchased a large amount of Russian oil exports, which now accounts for one third of its imported oil, and resold much of the oil for profit.

“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,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. “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.”

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India responded Trump’s post later Monday,alleging the targeting of India is “unjustified and unreasonable.” The ministry said India’s energy imports aim to ensure predictable and affordable energy costs to the Indian consumer, so they are “necessity compelled by global market situation” , while the European Union and the U.S. trading with Russia despite their sanctions is taking place when it is not even a vital national compulsion.

“India has been targeted by the U.S. 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 MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement. “The U.S. at that time actively encouraged such imports by India for strengthening global energy markets stability.”

“They are a necessity compelled by global market situation. However, it is revealing that the very nations criticizing India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia. Unlike our case, such trade is not even a vital national compulsion (for them),” according to the statement.

Trump didn’t specify how much he would raise the levy, but last week he had threatened India with 50% tariffs plus “penalty” over India’s trade with Russia.

India will be paying a tariff of 50% “plus a penalty for the above”, starting August 1, Trump announced in a social media post on July 30. The president didn’t offer any clue of the penalty, but attached India’s trade barriers and heavy reliance on Russian energy and military equipment.

India is one of Russia’s largest buyers of energy, and “they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia”, Trump posted on his platform Truth Social. He also claimed India has implemented “far too high” tariffs, “among the highest in the world, and the country has “the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country.” He stressed in another post that the U.S. has a massive trade deficit with India.

The 50% tariff rate is well above the 10% baseline tariffs that goods from most U.S. trading partners including South Korea have charged since April. It is also higher than the tariff range that Trump earlier this week threatened he would impose if India fails to reach a trade deal with the U.S. When asked by a reporter if India would pay tariffs of 20% to 25%, Trump said on Tuesday, “Yeah, I think so. India has been – they’re my friends.”

Trump last week also attacking Russia India in one of his social media posts: “They can take their dead economies down together.” Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller on Sunday also took direct aim at India, stating that Trump had made it clear “it is not acceptable for India to continue financing this [Ukraine] war by purchasing the oil from Russia”.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday stressed the necessity of protecting his country’s interests amid globla uncertainty, which was deemed as a possible response to Trump’s claim of “dead economies”. "The world economy is going through many apprehensions — there is an atmosphere of instability,” Modi said.”Now, whatever we buy, there should be only one scale: we will buy those things which have been made by the swat of an Indian.”

New Delhi hasn’t directed Indian oil refiners to stop buying Russian oil, and hasn’t made any decision on whether to halt the purchases yet, Bloomberg on Monday cited people famliar with the situation.