Trump’s tariffs on India ‘aggressive economic leverage’ to pressure Russia to end Ukraine war: Vance

US Vice President J.D. Vance has said that President Donald Trump had applied “aggressive economic leverage,” including secondary tariffs on India in an effort to force Russia to stop its bombardment of Ukraine.

In an interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press on Sunday, Vance explained that the measures were designed to “make it harder” for Moscow to profit from its oil trade.

The Trump administration has repeatedly criticised New Delhi for purchasing discounted Russian crude, even as it has refrained from making similar public remarks about China, which remains the largest buyer of Russian oil.

India, for its part, has consistently defended its energy policy, saying that procurement decisions — including imports from Russia — are based on national priorities and market considerations.

Despite recent complications following Trump’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month, Vance expressed confidence that Washington could still help broker a resolution to the conflict, NBC News reported.

“We believe we’ve already seen some significant concessions from both sides, just in the last few weeks,” Vance said in the interview aired on Sunday morning.

If the US is not “imposing new sanctions,” what is the pressure on Russia? “How do you get them to a place of getting to the table with Zelenskyy and stopping to drop bombs?” moderator Kristen Welker asked.

Trump has applied “aggressive economic leverage,” for example “secondary tariffs on India, to try to make it harder for the Russians to get rich from their oil economy,” Vance replied.

“He tried to make it clear that Russia can be reinvited into the world economy if they stop the killing. But they are going to continue to be isolated if they don’t stop the killing,” he said.

Earlier on April 22, Vance while speaking in Jaipur had urged India to drop non-tariff barriers, give greater access to its markets and buy more American energy and military hardware as he laid out a broader roadmap of deeper ties between the two nations for a “prosperous and peaceful” 21st century.

Ever since Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent, including a 25 per cent additional duties for India’s purchase of Russian crude oil, relations between New Delhi and Washington are on a downturn.

The US has alleged that India’s purchases of Russian crude oil are funding Moscow’s war in Ukraine, a charge strongly rejected by India.

New Delhi turned to purchasing Russian oil sold at a discount after Western countries imposed sanctions on Moscow and shunned its supplies over its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

On Saturday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said at an event in New Delhi, “It’s funny to have people who work for a pro-business American administration accusing other people of doing business.” He was responding to a question on the US criticism of India on the crude oil issue.

“That’s really curious. If you have a problem buying oil or refined products from India, don’t buy it. Nobody forces you to buy it. But Europe buys, America buys, so you don’t like it, don’t buy it,” Jaishankar said.

With inputs from agencies