'India Doesn't Care How Many Are Killed In Ukraine': Trump Threatens To ‘Substantially’ Raise Tariffs
US President Donald Trump said he will be 'substantially' raising tariffs paid by India to America, citing oil purchases from Russia.
United States President Donald Trump on Monday announced plans to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Indian exports to the US, sharply criticising India’s continued trade ties with Russia amid the Ukraine conflict. Taking to social media, Trump accused India of reaping profits by purchasing Russian oil and reselling it, while disregarding the ongoing war.
“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 post on his 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,” he added.
Trump recently issued an executive order outlining new trade duties on exports from several nations, including India. The order comes amid what Trump described as an “unacceptable” trade imbalance between the two countries.
He alleged that while India claims to be a close ally of the US, it continues to impose excessive tariffs and maintains stringent non-monetary trade barriers, which have hindered bilateral business ties.
“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 stated, as quoted by news agency PTI.
He further pointed out India’s longstanding military procurement from Moscow and its energy purchases from Russia as key issues.
“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!” Trump remarked.
White House Aide Echoes Trump’s Accusations
In an interview with Fox News, Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller, doubled down on the criticism. He alleged that India’s actions were directly financing the war in Ukraine. “It is not acceptable for India to continue financing this war by purchasing oil from Russia,” Miller said.
“People be shocked to learn that India is basically tied with China in purchasing Russian oil,” he noted.
“India portrays itself as being one of our closest friends in the world, but they don’t accept our products, they impose massive tariffs on us, we also know they engage in a lot of cheating on immigration policies, which is very harmful to American workers. And of course, we see again, the purchasing of oil,” he added.
Miller further mentioned that Trump has always aimed for a strong relationship with India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but added that the US must take a pragmatic stance on India’s role in financing the Ukraine war.
“All options are on the table to deal diplomatically, financially and otherwise with the ongoing war in Ukraine, so we can achieve peace and end the war that the Democrat Party and Joe Biden are responsible for,” Miller said.
India Responds to Trump’s 'Dead Economy' Jibe
Trump’s comments, including a recent jab that India and Russia could “take their dead economies down together”, prompted a response from the Indian government. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, addressing Parliament last week, defended India’s economic standing.
Goyal said that India is the world’s fastest-growing major economy and is widely projected to become the third-largest economy globally in the near future. He assured the House that New Delhi would take appropriate steps to protect its national interest in response to the proposed US tariffs.
Goyal added that the implications of the tariff announcement were under examination.
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