US president Donald Trump Friday admitted that the 50% tariff on India for purchase of Russian oil soured the relations between the two countries.
“Look, India was their (Russia’s) biggest customer. I put a 50% tariff on India because they’re buying oil from Russia. That’s not an easy thing to do,” Trump told Fox News in an interview.
India has seen outrage and a spike in anti-US sentiment after Trump imposed tariffs of up to 50 per cent on some of its exports over purchases of oil from Russia, under Western sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine.
“That’s a big deal. And it causes a rift with India,” Trump told the “Fox & Friends” program.
US-India ties have been strained by Trump’s trade war, with talks on lower tariff rates collapsing after India, the world’s fifth-largest economy, resisted opening its vast agricultural and dairy sectors. Bilateral trade between the two countries is worth more than $190 billion each year.
Trump first imposed additional tariffs of 25% on imports from India, then said they would double to 50% from August 27 as punishment for New Delhi’s increased purchases of Russian oil, as Washington works to end the war in Ukraine.
The US president said on Tuesday his administration is continuing negotiations to address trade barriers with India and that he would talk to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a sign of a reset after weeks of diplomatic friction.
Sergio Gor, nominated by Trump to be ambassador to India, said he expected progress when India’s commerce minister visits Washington next week.
Describing the tariffs as a “little hiccup,” Gor — also named to a broad position of Trump’s special envoy for South Asia — said of concern over India’s Russia ties, “We hold our friends to different standards.”
“I will make it a top priority to ensure that they’re pulled in our direction, not away from us,” Gor said of India.
Gor noted that Trump, not shy about airing grievances with other leaders, has not personally attacked PM Modi.
In the same Fox program, Trump said his patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin was running out, but stopped short of threatening new sanctions over the Ukraine war.
“Yeah. It’s sort of running out and running out fast,” said Trump when asked if his patience with Putin had run out.
The US president said he had long had a good relationship with Putin, but expressed frustration at his failure to end the war.
“We’re going to have to come down very, very strong,” he said.
Trump said sanctions on banks and oil were an option, along with tariffs, but European countries also needed to participate.
