US-India trade row: Trump threatens New Delhi with heavy tariffs over Russian Oil imports

New Delhi: In a strong message to India, US President Donald said that if New Delhi does not stop buying oil from Russia, it will face heavy tariffs. Trump claimed to have spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the latter ‘refused’ to buy Russian oil.

However, when India said that no such negotiations were held, Trump replied, “If India says so, it will have to pay heavy tariffs and they will not want that.”

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The statement of Trump could further increase the trade tension between the world's two largest democracies. The United States wants countries to stop buying oil from Russia as Trump believes that the money earned by Moscow is used in the war against Ukraine. For this purpose, the Trump administration has increased the tariff on many things exported from India to 50 percent. He clearly stated that this tariff is a punishment for buying oil from Russia.

For the second time in the last week, Trump has commented on India's purchase of Russian oil. During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday, Trump said that India has almost stopped buying oil from Russia. He said that earlier India used to take 38 percent of its oil from Russia, but now it is completely withdrawing. Trump also cited the example of Hungary, which relies on a single pipeline and cannot get rid of Russian oil.

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India has clearly stated that its energy policy is formulated keeping in mind the interests of the country and the needs of the common people. According to the ET report, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “India is a big importer of oil and gas. Our priority is that oil prices remain stable in the global market and we get cheap oil.” He also said that India buys oil from different countries so that there is no interruption in the supply.