US President Donald Trump, on Wednesday, once again defended his decision to impose secondary sanctions on India for continuing to import Russian oil, warning that harsher measures could follow if New Delhi failed to comply.
According to Trump, the penalties, which effectively doubled duties on Indian goods to 50 percent, had already cost Moscow “hundreds of billions of dollars.” He further cautioned that “phase two” and “phase three” sanctions were “still on the table.”
The US President made the remarks during an Oval Office meeting with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, where he bristled at a question suggesting he had shown frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin but taken little concrete action.
“Would you say that putting secondary sanctions on India, the largest purchaser outside of China, cost Russia hundreds of billions of dollars...you call that no action?” Trump shot back at a Polish reporter. “And I haven’t done phase two yet or phase three. But when you say there’s no action, I think you ought to get yourself a new job.”
The president stressed that New Delhi had been given prior warning.
“Two weeks ago, I said if India buys, India’s got big problems and that’s what happened. So don’t tell me about that,” Trump remarked.
Asked about the possibility of broader sanctions on Moscow after Russian, Chinese and North Korean leaders shared a stage at a Beijing military parade, Trump again pointed to the penalties on India. “Well, I’ve already done that with regard to India, and we’re doing it with regard to other things,” he replied.
The new tariff regime, a 25 percent reciprocal duty on Indian exports plus an additional 25 percent linked to oil imports from Russia, took effect on August 27.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly, as cited by Reuters on Wednesday, has defended the measures, saying Trump’s foreign policy record was “unparalleled” and had secured “better deals for the American people,” including mediating an India-Pakistan ceasefire. She added that Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a “respectful relationship” and that bilateral engagement continued across diplomatic, defense and trade channels.
The escalation fits a familiar Trump theme.
Just a day earlier, he argued that trade with India had long been “one-sided” and accused New Delhi of levying “tremendous tariffs, about the highest in the world.”
“We get along with India very well, but for many years it was a one-sided relationship,” Trump told reporters. “Only now, since I came along and because of the power that we have with us, India was charging us tremendous tariffs, and we therefore weren’t doing much business with India.”
New Delhi, in the meantime, insists that India's oil sourcing decisions are driven by affordability and supply security, not political considerations, and has warned that US tariffs could damage a critical strategic partnership.
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