Despite the war in Ukraine, India continues to buy Russian oil. Donald Trump is now taking action and imposing additional tariffs of 25 percent on the country. The US president had previously issued a threat.
US President Donald Trump has imposed additional punitive tariffs of 25 percent on India. The White House announced on Wednesday that India's continued purchases of Russian oil were the reason. Trump signed a decree doubling the tariff on many Indian products to 50 percent. It will take effect in three weeks. Starting this Thursday, the previously announced 25 percent tariff will initially apply to India.
Trump is thus carrying out his threat of"punishment" against India. He had repeatedly criticized the country for continuing to import cheap Russian oil and gas, as well as weapons from Russia, despite the Russian war of aggression. India is the first country against which the US president has imposed so-called secondary sanctions in connection with the Ukraine war. China, Brazil, and EU countries such as Hungary and Austria also continue to trade with Russia.
With this move, the US president aims to further weaken the Kremlin's economic base, especially by putting greater pressure on major energy consumers. Russia has been waging war against Ukraine for more than three years and keeps its war machine running primarily through the sale of its raw materials, especially fossil fuels such as oil and gas.
Trump had repeatedly threatened higher tariffs in connection with the war, but had not yet provided any concrete figures. Last Tuesday (July 29), the US president set a ten-day deadline and called for a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv within that period. If this was not achieved, he announced sanctions against Russia's trading partners. Trump's announcement against India came on the same day that his US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, held talks in Moscow.
Russian commentators said that Witkoff had just left when Trump's announcement came. Apparently, the negotiations hadn't produced any results. However, it was considered extremely unlikely that Putin would agree to the end of the war demanded by Trump. He always emphasized that he wanted to achieve all of his war aims first.
In June, India was the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels after China, purchasing goods worth €4.5 billion. Crude oil accounted for 80 percent, or €3.6 billion, according to energy experts from the independent research organization CREA. The country receives oil and other energy sources at significant discounts, below the world market value.
New tariffs for the EU come into force on Thursday
Higher US import tariffs for the European Union and several countries around the world will take effect on Thursday. For the EU, a 15 percent surcharge will apply to most products, including cars. This is less than Trump threatened, but several times the tariff rate that has been in place for years. Japan and South Korea have reached similar agreements with Trump.
Switzerland, China, Mexico, and other countries, however, continue to negotiate with the US government. Trump expects the tariffs to"make America great and rich again," as he wrote on his online service Truth Social. He accuses the EU and numerous other trading partners of having"ripped off" the United States with their exports for decades.
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