Earlier, White House official Stephen Miller had criticized India’s oil purchases, linking them to China and claiming they finance the Ukrainian conflict, while minister Piyush Goyal said the Centre will act in a way that protects national interest.
New Delhi: US President Donald Trump on Monday, August 4, continued his threats on India, stating that he will substantially increase the Tariff paid by India to the USA from 25%. Trump once again criticized India for its continued oil trade with Russia and said that India was not just buying oil from the country, but selling them for profit. “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. They 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. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he wrote on his social media platform.
Indian government officials had downplayed the economic impact of the 25% tariffs, stating that there was no plan to stop buying oil from Russia. According to NDTV, officials believe India’s GDP would not be affected by more than 0.2% loss.
Earlier, Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff at the White House on Sunday (local time) said that it was not acceptable for India to purchase Russian oil, alleging that it ‘financed’ the crisis in Ukraine. Miller, in an interview with Fox News alleged that India has ‘ties’ with China in purchasing oil from Russia. “It is not acceptable for India to continue financing this war by purchasing the oil from Russia. People will be shocked to learn that India is basically tied with China in purchasing Russian oil. That’s an astonishing fact,” he said.
On Friday, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said that decisions on energy purchases are based on market pricing and global conditions, while Union Commerce minister Piyush Goyal told Parliament that the Centre will act in a way that protects national interest. US President Donald Trump had imposed reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries with which the US has a trade deficit. Since assuming office for his second term, President Trump has reiterated his stance on tariff reciprocity, emphasising that the United States will match tariffs imposed by other countries, including India, to “ensure fair trade”.