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US Department of Finance Secretary Scott Beshent has warned that Washington can increase secondary tariffs for India.
He said the decision would depend on the result of the meeting of President Donald Trump with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
“We have put secondary tariffs for the Indians to buy Russian oil. And I could see if things are not going well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs can rise,” Besten said in one Interview with Bloomberg TV On Wednesday.
Earlier this month Trump imposed a 25% punishment In India, in addition to 25% of oil and weapons tariffs from Russia.
The United States is trying to mediate to end the fire between Russia and Ukraine, and on Wednesday, Trump warned of “serious consequences” if Moscow disagreed with a peaceful deal.
Trump and Putin are set up to meet In Anchorage on Friday to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine.
“President Trump meets with President Putin, and Europeans are in the wings, who are going to do it, what he should do, what to do. Europeans have to join us in these sanctions. Europeans must be ready to invest these secondary sanctions,” Bechent said.
Delhi’s increased imports of cheap Russian raw materials after the war in Ukraine strained relations between India and the United States and violated current trade conversations with Washington.
Russian oil made up 35% to 40% of the oil imports to India in 2024 – compared to 3% in 2021.
Delhi defended his Russian oil purchases by arguing that as a major importer of energy, he must buy the cheapest raw material available to protect millions of poor Indians from increasing costs.
Beshent’s comments come after he called India a “beaten inflammatory” about trade negotiations in Interview with Fox Business Tuesday.
Trump says his tariffs are part of his administration’s plan to strengthen the US economy and make global trade more just.
He has repeatedly called India a tariff violence and is willing to reduce the $ 45 billion trade deficit (£ 33 billion) with the third largest economy of Asia.
Commercial negotiations between Delhi and Washington have been for several months and are ready to renew the US negotiators who are expected to arrive in India on August 25th.
But experts claim that India’s refusal to reduce agriculture and dairy products is a major thorn in negotiations.
Trump’s new tariff rate in India should take effect on August 27, which some experts said was similar to a trade embargo between the two countries.
This makes India the most taxed American trading partner in Asia and is expected to seriously impede exports focused on exports, such as textiles and jewelry, and can enhance India’s growth by half percent.
