Trump says tariffs on India will be raised ‘substantially’ as it buys oil from Russia
By Sunil Kumar Batra
New Delhi, Aug 4 (BVI) Continuing his tirade against India, US President Donald Trump today vowed to “substantially” raise tariffs on Indian imports because it is buying “massive” amounts of oil from Russia, 5 days after he announced 25% tariffs plus unspecified “penalty” on the country.
“India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits,” Trump posted on social media platform ‘Truth Social’.
“They (India) don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian war machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the tariff paid by India to the USA,” he added.
Earlier on July 31, Trump had said India would be “paying a tariff of 25%, plus a penalty for the above, starting from August first.”
The reason he cited for this was that India has “always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia’s largest buyer of energy, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine. All things are not good.”
He had also said, “While India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country.” (BVI)
