Trump vows to maintain ‘massive’ tariffs on India over Russian oil imports
Warns India against denying Modi’s assurance of halting oil purchases
Washington, October 20 (KMS): US President Donald Trump has warned that his administration will keep imposing “massive” tariffs on Indian goods until New Delhi completely stops importing Russian oil, saying petroleum trade with Moscow funds Russia’s war in Ukraine.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he had spoken with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who, he claimed, assured him that India would “not be doing the Russian oil thing.”
“I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India, and he said he’s not going to be doing the Russian oil thing,” Trump said, warning that if India denied the conversation, “they’ll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don’t want to do that.”
Russian oil has been a major sticking point in US-India trade talks. Half of Trump’s 50 percent tariffs on Indian goods are reportedly in retaliation for New Delhi’s continued purchases of discounted Russian crude.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs, however, said it was not aware of any recent phone conversation between Modi and Trump, reiterating that India’s primary concern remains to “safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer.”
A White House official later said India had halved its imports of Russian oil, though Indian sources contradicted the claim, saying no immediate reduction had been observed.
India emerged as the largest buyer of seaborne Russian oil following Western sanctions on Moscow over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Trump’s remarks have added renewed tension to already fraught trade relations between Washington and New Delhi.
