The Trump government has consistently expressed disapproval of India’s purchase of discounted Russian oil. (AI image)
US Vice President JD Vance has said that Donald Trump applied secondary tariffs on India to force Russia to stop the war with Ukraine. Calling it ‘aggressive economic leverage’, Vance said that the measure would make it difficult for Russia to get richer by selling its crude oil.Vance indicated that US President Donald Trump has utilised strong economic measures, including ‘secondary tariffs on India’ as pressure tactics to halt Russia’s military operations in Ukraine.The Trump government has consistently expressed disapproval of India’s purchase of discounted Russian oil. However, it is notable that Washington has refrained from criticising China, despite it being the primary purchaser of Russian oil.
Trump’s pressure tactics on Russia – JD Vance explains
During an exclusive conversation with NBC News’ “Meet the Press”, Vance expressed that these measures would diminish Russia’s ability to profit from its petroleum exports.According to a PTI report quoting NBC News, Vance expressed optimism about America’s capability to facilitate peace between Russia and Ukraine, despite certain complications arising after President Trump’s recent discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin.Also Read | ‘We have red lines…’: Jaishankar’s clear message on India-US trade deal; slams ‘sanctions’ on Russia oil, says ‘if you don’t like it, don’t buy it’“We believe we’ve already seen some significant concessions from both sides, just in the last few weeks,” Vance said in the interview.When questioned by moderator Kristen Welker about the pressure on Russia in the absence of ‘imposing new sanctions’ and how to facilitate dialogue between Zelenskyy and Russia to halt the bombardment, Vance provided his perspective.He explained that Trump implemented ‘aggressive economic leverage’, including ‘secondary tariffs on India’, to try to make it harder for the Russians to get rich from their oil economy.”Vance elaborated that the message to Russia was clear: they could rejoin the global economy by stopping the war, but their isolation would persist if they continued their aggressive actions.
How has India reacted to US secondary tariffs?
India has consistently emphasised that its decisions regarding energy acquisition, including from Russia, are based on domestic requirements and market conditions.Following Trump’s decision to increase tariffs on Indian products to 50%, including additional 25 % duties on India’s Russian crude oil purchases, the relationship between New Delhi and Washington has deteriorated.Washington claims that India’s procurement of Russian crude oil is supporting Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine, an accusation that India firmly denies.Also Read | Over 20% of Russia’s war-period crude exports! India bought about Rs 13.39 lakh crore in Russian oil; trails China’s Rs 193 billionFollowing Western nations’ sanctions on Moscow and their rejection of Russian supplies due to its Ukraine invasion in February 2022, India began purchasing discounted Russian oil.External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said, “It’s funny to have people who work for a pro-business American administration accusing other people of doing business.”This statement was in response to American criticism regarding India’s crude oil purchases.“That’s really curious. If you have a problem buying oil or refined products from India, don’t buy it. Nobody forces you to buy it. But Europe buys, America buys, so you don’t like it, don’t buy it,” Jaishankar said.
