US Congressman Brad Sherman has asked President Donald Trump to reverse his outrageous tariff policy against India, saying that the President has been grasping for excuses to slap outrageous tariffs on New Delhi in the garb of the Russian oil deal. Sherman flagged that while Hungary and China remain untouched by Russian oil-linked tariffs, Trump has been singling out India.
The US Congress leader serving California’s 32nd District wrote on X, “President Trump is grasping for excuses to slap outrageous tariffs on India. He claims it’s about importing Russian oil — yet Hungary imports 90% of its crude from Russia with no tariffs. And China, Russia’s biggest oil buyer, hasn’t been hit with sanctions tied to purchasing Russian oil, though it has been hit for other reasons. India gets just 21% of its crude from Russia, but our ally is being singled out. The President should reverse this policy immediately.”
Notably, Trump had imposed 25 per cent additional tariffs on India for the purchase of Russian oil, which was withdrawn recently after the finalisation of the India-US trade deal. While the US has imposed around 30% tariffs on China, but that is not linked to Russian oil.
Just yesterday, former US defence official Lindsey Ford said that America will create real vulnerability for India by pushing Delhi against Russia. “America needs to understand that if we ask India to diversify away from Russia, it will create real vulnerability for India. If America does not step up to provide things militarily, we should not expect India to walk away from Russia,” she said.
Ford said that America has to consider the concerns India has been raising on Pakistan. “This includes Pakistan picking up tactics, tech and training from the West & taking them to China. The US and Western countries have to interrogate these concerns,” she said.
On Feb 15, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the India has committed to stop buying additional Russian oil. This comes days after the US fact sheet on trade deal with India threatened additional sanctions if India contiue to purchase Russian oil.
