President Trump asks EU to impose 100% tariff on Indian products
Washington: US President Donald Trump has asked the European Union (EU) to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on Indian goods as part of a joint effort to increase pressure on Russia to end the war in Ukraine, the Financial Times reported today.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Trump made the extraordinary demand after dialling into a meeting between senior US and EU officials gathered in Washington to discuss ways to heighten the economic cost of the war for Moscow, the report said, citing unnamed officials.
The FT reported that Trump said the US is ready to impose additional tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil, including China and India, but any such action would be taken jointly with European allies.
He said that imposing a 100% tariff would create joint pressure on Russia to end the war in Ukraine. The US president stated that all countries should collectively levy tariffs to stop India from buying Russian oil. Trump also noted that there are few alternative markets for Russian oil, and if the EU imposes tariffs on India and China, Washington will take similar measures.
The relations between New Delhi and Washington are on a major downturn after Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent including a 25 per cent additional duties for India’s purchase of Russian crude oil.
In the last few days, several Trump administration officials including White House trade advisor Peter Navarro have used offensive language to criticize India for its procurement of Russian crude oil.
India’s big oil lobby has turned the largest democracy in the world into a “massive refining hub and oil money laundromat for the Kremlin”, Navarro said recently.
