US President Donald Trump sat down for an interview with Fox News, where he said Russia has lost India as an oil client, which could put them in an economic pinch. He made these comments ahead of the Summit in Alaska, while discussing the economic factors that could push President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table. He also hinted at sparing India from levying secondary tariffs.
‘Russia lost an oil client’
“Putin comes to this table, maybe in an economic pinch, and that maybe the things you’ve already done have put him in an economic pinch. Is there an economic side to this, as Russia is hoping to open up to the world?” the interviewer asked him during an interview aboard Air Force One.
Trump responded to this and said, “Well, they lost an oil client, so to speak, which is India, which was doing about 40 per cent of the oil. China, as you know, is doing a lot, and a few other countries… And if I did what’s called a secondary sanction or a secondary tariff, it would be devastating from their standpoint.. If I have to do it, I’ll do it; maybe I won’t have to do it.”
He also signalled at sparing India from secondary tariffs over its oil trade with Russia.
While Putin said that an “understanding” was reached during the Summit in Alaska that lasted for nearly three hours, Trump said that the two have made “some headway” but stressed that “there’s no deal” until there is one.
“There were many, many points that we agreed on. I would say a couple of big ones that we haven’t quite got there, but we’ve made some headway… There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said.
Putin further claimed that the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine would never have started if Trump had been in office instead of Joe Biden. Further, he warned the EU against obstructing peace efforts.
Many more secondary tariffs incoming
This came just days after he threatened a 50 per cent tariff on Indian imports if New Delhi continues to trade with Russia for oil. He announced an additional 25 per cent tariffs against India and later hinted at more “secondary sanctions”, adding that “one of them could be China”.
While some of the duties announced in the executive order already came into effect, some will come into force on August 27.
Trump, in his executive order, said, “I determine that it is necessary and appropriate to impose an additional ad valorem duty on imports of articles of India, which is directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil.”
Earlier, when Trump was asked why he was singling out India for buying oil from Russia, since other countries also trade with Russia. Case in point, China. He said, “It’s only been eight hours. So, let’s see what happens. You’re going to see so many secondary sanctions,” Trump told reporters during a press briefing in the White House.
‘Unfair, unjustified and unreasonable’: MEA
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in its response to Trump’s tariff threats, termed the move as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”, and said that New Delhi will take “necessary measures to protect its national interests”.
In an official statement, the MEA said, “The United States has in recent days targeted India’s oil imports from Russia. We have already made clear our position on these issues, including the fact that our imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India.”
“It is therefore extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest,” the statement added.
“We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable. India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests,” the statement further read.