India doesn’t care Russia killing Ukrainians! Trump lashes out
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New York/Washington/New Delhi: In a fresh trade threat against India, President Donald Trump on Monday said he will "substantially" raise US tariffs on New Delhi, accusing it of buying massive amounts of Russian oil and selling it for big profits, reports the Associated Press.
Last week, the Trump administration slapped a 25 per cent duty on all Indian goods. The US president also announced a penalty for buying "the vast majority" of Russian military equipment and crude oil, but no mention was made in the notification.
"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 in a social media post on Monday.
"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," he added.
In its reaction, India said it would take all necessary steps to safeguard and promote national interest and that the implications of the tariffs would be examined.
India's import of crude oil from Russia has risen from 0.2 per cent of total purchases before the Russia-Ukraine war to 35-40 per cent. New Delhi is the largest buyer of Russian oil after China.
On August 1, Trump 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 Trump had said India would have to pay because of its purchases of Russian military equipment and energy.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, in an interview on Fox News Sunday, stated that President Trump has said very clearly that “it is not acceptable for India to continue financing" the Ukraine war by purchasing oil from Russia.
Last week, Trump mounted a sharp attack on India and Russia for their close ties and said the two countries can take their "dead economies down together", a remark which prompted New Delhi to say that India is the world's fastest-growing major economy.
