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Trump warns India ‘massive tariffs’ will remain unless it ends Russian oil imports
Despite US pressure, India’s Russian oil imports are actually set to rise by 20 per cent this month, according to industry estimates
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US President Donald Trump reiterated on Sunday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him India would stop buying Russian oil, while warning that New Delhi would continue paying “massive” tariffs if it did not do so.
“I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India, and he said he’s not going to be doing the Russian oil thing,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Asked about India’s assertion that it was not aware of any conversation between Modi and Trump, Trump replied: “But if they want to say that, then they’ll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don’t want to do that.”
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Russian oil has been one of the main irritants for Trump in prolonged trade talks with India – half of his 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods are in retaliation for those purchases. The US government has said petroleum revenue funds Russia’s war in Ukraine.
India has become the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian oil sold at a discount after Western nations shunned purchases and imposed sanctions on Moscow for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
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Trade talks between India and the US were going on in a “congenial” manner, an Indian government official said on Saturday, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of talks.
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