Trump threatens to maintain «massive» tariffs on Indian exports over Russian oil imports
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has issued a controversial statement regarding India’s trade policies, warning that he will keep imposing his «massive» tariffs on Indian goods unless the country halts its imports of Russian oil.
According to Trump, he had a conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during which the latter allegedly assured him that India would stop importing Russian oil.
However, this claim remains doubtful.
Trump emphasized that if Indian authorities deny such discussions, they will continue to pay hefty tariffs on their exports, potentially escalating trade tensions between Washington and New Delhi.
The import of energy resources from Russia remains a major point of concern in the bilateral trade talks, with half of the 50% tariffs imposed by the Trump administration being a response to Russian oil purchases.
Trump revealed that on October 15, he was told by officials that India would cease buying Russian oil, though official Indian sources deny any such phone conversation took place that day.
The White House officials later tried to backtrack, stating that India has already cut its oil imports by half, but industry sources contradict this, indicating that Russian oil imports to India actually increased by approximately 20% in October and are projected to reach about 1.9 million barrels per day.
Experts note that already signed contracts for November and December make any immediate reduction unlikely before late December or January, keeping the situation fluid and under close observation.