Donald Trump flaunts India sanctions as his shield against Russia criticism

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, 3 September, defended his record on Russia, pointing to “secondary sanctions” imposed on India as evidence of action.

Speaking alongside Polish president Karol Nawrocki, Trump dismissed criticism that he had been soft on Moscow. “How do you know there’s no action? Would you say that putting secondary sanctions on India, the largest purchaser outside of China, is almost equal? Would you say there was no action that cost hundreds of billions of dollars to Russia?” he said.

He reminded reporters of his earlier warning to New Delhi. “Two weeks ago, I said if India buys, India’s got big problems — and that’s what happened,” Trump remarked. He also hinted at further steps, saying, “I haven’t done phase two yet or phase three,” without clarifying whether China or other major buyers of Russian oil could be next.

The Trump administration has targeted India with a 25 per cent additional tariff on Russian oil imports, effectively doubling total duties to 50 per cent. New Delhi has slammed the move as “unfair and unjustified.”

In an interview a day earlier with Scott Jennings, Trump claimed India had agreed to drop tariffs on American goods. “They’ve offered me no tariffs in India anymore. No tariffs. If I didn’t have tariffs, they would never make that offer,” he asserted.

At a separate press briefing on Tuesday, Trump again criticised India’s trade practices, calling the bilateral relationship “one-sided for many years” due to high tariffs blocking American exports. “We get along with India very well,” he said, “but you have to understand, for many years, it was a one-sided relationship.”

Meanwhile, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal confirmed that negotiations are underway, expressing confidence that India and the US could finalise a bilateral trade agreement by November.

Rahul Gandhi, leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, called Trump’s imposition of a 50 per cent tariff “economic blackmail,” warning it’s an attempt to coerce India into an unfair trade deal. He urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to let “weakness override the interests of the Indian people.”

Congress MP Manish Tewari also blasted the government’s handling of trade negotiations — citing Trump's tariff threats — as an “abject failure.” He emphasised that the Indian administration must “develop a spine and stand up to the US.”

With IANS inputs