‘War machine’: Trump to hike tariffs on India for buying Russian oil

“It is revealing that the very nations criticising India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia,” said a spokesman, citing US imports of uranium hexafluoride, palladium and fertilisers. “Unlike our case, such trade is not even a vital national compulsion.”

This week is shaping up as a critical juncture for Trump’s stalled efforts to mediate a conflict he once boasted he could end in 24 hours. The president’s revised ultimatum gives Putin until Friday to sign up to a ceasefire or face additional sanctions, along with Russian trading partners.

Trump said his special envoy Steve Witkoff might travel to Russia on Wednesday or Thursday ahead of the deadline, and that Moscow would face sanctions if a ceasefire wasn’t brokered by then – though he noted the Russians were “wily characters, and they’re pretty good at avoiding sanctions”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said officials were always happy to meet with Trump’s envoy, and that the Kremlin considered such talks important, substantive and useful.

While Reuters reported last week that Indian oil refineries had hit pause on imports of Russian crude, by the weekend the Times and Bloomberg were reporting that no instructions to halt imports had been issued, and Russian tankers continued to arrive at India’s state-owned refineries.

India, a Quad partner of the US along with Australia and Japan, was hit with some of the highest US tariffs among major US trading partners, 25 per cent, when the revised levies were announced late last week. They do not take effect until August 7.

While Trump has edged closer to imposing so-called secondary sanctions on Russia by targeting countries to which it sells oil, he has stopped short of embracing a Senate-led bill to impose 500 per cent tariffs on nations that buy Russian oil.

The president has, however, threatened tariffs of 100 per cent, saying this would be sufficient. Republican senator Lindsey Graham, a key author of the Senate bill, welcomed Trump’s latest threat.

“I appreciate your strong commitment to ending this bloodbath in Ukraine,” Graham said. “Making those like India pay a price for their war profiteering is a good place to start.”

In February, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi became one of the first foreign leaders to visit the White House after Trump’s return to the presidency, but relations have strained somewhat since then.

Loading

“People will be shocked to learn that India is basically tied with China in purchasing Russian oil,” White House deputy chief of staff for policy, Stephen Miller, told Fox News on Sunday. “That’s an astonishing fact.”

Miller said India “portrays itself as being one of our closest friends”, but then listed numerous grievances, alleging India maintains unfair trade practices and cheats on immigration, as well as helping finance the Russian war effort in Ukraine.

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.