The United States has increased trade pressure on India with its warning of “secondary” tariffs should New Delhi continue to buy Russian oil. This follows Washington’s implementation of a massive 50% tariff on Indian products.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on Bloomberg TV that he was encouraging European allies to join Washington in its message and that it was time to expand sanctions to include not only China, but any other nation buying Russian energy. He hinted at some amount of flexibility by saying sanctions “can go up” or “can be loosened” depending on the results of a scheduled meeting in Alaska Friday between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
This could be interpreted as a signal of Washington’s desire to apply the economic squeeze on Russian energy revenues while targeting large purchasers like India to reconsider how they sourced their imports.
“The Europeans need to join us in these sanctions…They need to…It’s put up or shut up time,” Bessent said. “We put secondary tariffs on the Indians for buying Russian oil. And I could see if things don’t go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up,” he added.
Bessent’s threat comes as Trump threatened Putin of “severe consequences” if the Ukraine peace deal is not achieved in the Alaska talks. While Trump did not specify the details about the repercussions, he did hint on possible economic sanctions. When asked if Russia would face consequences if no agreement is reached, Trump said, "Yes, they will…I don't have to say. There will be very severe consequences.”
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the US, Japan, Europe and many other countries have imposed massive sanctions on Moscow.
The Trump administration has accused India of indirectly financing Russia's war efforts by continuing to import Russian oil. Nevertheless, New Delhi has been adamant in defending its actions, and has said its primary obligation is to protect its citizens' interests. Indian officials have said that buying Russian oil gives price stability in fuel, and affordability since Russian crude is cheaper.
India has also called attention to the perceived hypocrisy on the part of the US and Europe these nations publicly conducted on sanctions against Russia only to coming to the realization that they, too have ongoing trading and imports into Russia.
