US warns of further tariffs on India if Trump-Putin peace talks fail

[ad_1] US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that Washington might improve secondary tariffs on India.

He stated the choice would rely on the result of President Donald Trump's assembly with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

"We have put secondary tariffs on Indians for getting Russian oil. And I might see, If issues do not go properly, then sanctions or secondary tariffs might go up," Bessent stated in an interview to Bloomberg TV on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, Trump imposed a 25% penalty on India along with 25% tariffs for getting oil and weapons from Russia.

The US has been making an attempt to mediate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, and on Wednesday, Trump warned of "extreme penalties" if Moscow didn't conform to a peace deal.

Trump and Putin are set to fulfill in Anchorage on Friday to debate find out how to finish the battle in Ukraine.

"President Trump is assembly with President Putin, and the Europeans are within the wings carping about how he ought to do it, what he ought to do. The Europeans want to affix us in these sanctions. The Europeans must be keen to placed on these secondary sanctions," Bessent stated.

Delhi's elevated imports of low cost Russian crude for the reason that Ukraine battle have strained India-US relations and disrupted ongoing commerce talks with Washington.

Russian oil made up 35% to 40% of India's oil imports in 2024 - up from 3% in 2021.

Delhi has defended its purchases of Russian oil, arguing that as a significant power importer, it should purchase the most cost effective obtainable crude to guard thousands and thousands of poor Indians from rising prices.

Bessent's feedback come after he known as India a "bit recalcitrant" on commerce negotiations in an interview with Fox Enterprise on Tuesday.

Trump says his tariffs are a part of his administration's plan to spice up the US' economic system and make world commerce fairer.

He has repeatedly known as India a tariff abuser and is eager to trim a $45bn (£33bn) commerce deficit with Asia's third largest economic system.

Commerce negotiations between Delhi and Washington have been beneath approach for a number of months, and are set to resume with US negotiators anticipated to reach in India on 25 August.

However consultants say India's refusal to scale back duties on agriculture and dairy merchandise has been a significant thorn within the negotiations.

Trump's new 50% tariff price on India is about to return into impact on 27 August, which some consultants have stated is akin to an embargo on commerce between the 2 nations.

It makes India probably the most closely taxed US buying and selling companion in Asia and is predicted to severely hamper its exports targeted industries like textiles and jewelry, and will drag India's development down by as a lot as half a %.