The Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee have slammed US President Donald Trump for “singling out” India over its purchases of Russian oil, while not imposing similar sanctions on China, a bigger buyer. The Committee said the tariffs imposed on India are damaging the bilateral relationship between the two nations.
“Instead of imposing sanctions on China or others purchasing larger amounts of Russian oil, Trump’s singling out India with tariffs, hurting Americans & sabotaging the US-India relationship in the process. It’s almost like it’s not about Ukraine at all,” the House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats said in a post on X.
Focus on India While China Escapes
The Committee highlighted a New York Times report that noted, “It would be one thing if the Trump administration had opted to follow through on the threat of secondary sanctions for any country that purchases Russian oil. But the decision to focus solely on India has resulted in perhaps the most confusing policy outcome of all: China, the largest importer of Russian energy, is still purchasing oil at discount prices, and has so far been spared similar punishment.” Trump has imposed 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India and an additional 25 per cent for Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil.
India Defends Its Position
Members of the Trump administration have criticized India for buying energy from Moscow, claiming it is “funding” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “war machine” in the Ukraine conflict. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro even described the Ukraine conflict as “Modi’s war”, saying the “road to peace” runs partly “right through New Delhi” as India is helping feed the Russian war machine by buying oil from Moscow.
India, however, has termed the tariffs as “unjustified and unreasonable”. “Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,” the government said.