US President Donald Trump continues to ramp up “massive tariff” threats against India over its purchase of Russian oil amid the country’s war in Ukraine. Shortly after reports started floating that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured the 79-year-old American leader that the South Asian nation would be halting its trade with President Vladimir Putin’s country, Trump again spoke out on the issue this week.
Trump’s tariff threats against India – What he said
In the face of the current friction between the US and India, Trump said PM Modi told him, “‘I’m not going to be doing the Russian oil thing,’ But if they keep doing it, they’ll be paying massive tariffs,” he said, as per Turkey-owned TRT World.
Moreover, the POTUS spent some time during a Fox News interview doubling down on claims of having averted a potential war between India and Pakistan by advantageously employing his tariff threats.
“I’ve ended, you know, eight wars that we just mentioned. Five of them have been ended because of tariffs. The threat of tariffs, as an example, kept India and Pakistan–two nuclear nations–from going at it,” the MAGA leader said.
“They were going at it–seven planes were shot down. That’s a lot. And they were going at it. That could have been a nuclear war.” He went on to suggest that he warned both South Asian nuclear powers of a 200% tariff if they didn’t move towards de-escalation. As per his account, both India and Pakistan ultimately acquiesced and “settled the war… through trade” within 24 hours.
India vs US on Russian oil debate
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has repeatedly hit out against New Delhi, accusing it of funding the “Russian war machine,” alongside China. While Trump continues to reiterate his claims of having spoken to Modi about the matter in recent time, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) rebuffed the suggestions.
During a Thursday press briefing, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal disclosed that he wasn’t in the know about any such conversation between the leaders of both countries. Amid rising insinuation about India potentially connects with the US for oil trade, the MEA official said, “There are continuous talks of deepening energy ties with the United States.”
