The United States could raise tariffs on Indian goods if New Delhi does not address Washington’s concerns over India’s purchases of Russian oil, US President Donald Trump said on board Air Force One.
“They wanted to make me happy, basically. Prime Minister Modi is a very good man. He’s a good guy. He knew I was not happy. It was important to make me happy,” Trump told reporters. “They do trade, and we can raise tariffs on them very quickly,” he added.
The United States, which has been seeking to narrow its trade deficit with India, doubled import tariffs on Indian goods to 50 per cent last year, citing New Delhi’s continued large-scale purchases of Russian oil. While the two countries are negotiating a possible trade agreement, the talks have repeatedly run into difficulties.
India Emerges As Largest Buyer Of Russian Seaborne Crude
India emerged as the largest buyer of discounted Russian seaborne crude following the outbreak of the Ukraine war in 2022. However, those purchases have drawn sharp criticism from Western nations, which have imposed sanctions on Russia’s energy sector, arguing that oil revenues help finance Moscow’s war effort.
Although several major economies have managed to strike trade deals with Washington that eased Trump’s initial steep tariff rates, negotiations between New Delhi and Washington have so far failed to yield an agreement.
Talks collapsed in late July after India resisted opening its market to US agricultural products and rejected Trump’s claim that he had mediated during a brief conflict between India and Pakistan. Trump subsequently doubled tariff rates on Indian goods in August.
PM Modi And Trump on Russian Oil Import
Despite the tensions, Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have remained in contact and negotiations have since resumed, though India’s Russian oil imports continue to be a key sticking point.
While Trump said in October that Modi had pledged to stop buying Russian oil, India has publicly pushed back against US pressure, maintaining that Russian supplies are critical to its energy security.
Stricter sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union have already curtailed Russian oil flows to India. Imports fell to a three-year low of about 1.2 million barrels per day in December, according to sources and data from analytics firm Kpler, a decline of nearly 40 per cent from a peak of around 2 million bpd recorded in June.
