Trump says he will be 'substantially' raising tariff paid by India to America

US President Donald Trump on Monday said he will be "substantially" — though not immediately clear by how much — raising the tariff paid by India to America, accusing the country of buying massive amounts of Russian oil and selling it for big profits.

The import of crude oil from Russia, which India had suspended as soon as the US announced its first round of tariffs against India as per a Reuters report, had reportedly resumed.

Opposition parties, most notably the Congress and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, have been sharply critical of the Indian government's apparent capitulation to the US's seeming high-handedness in dealing with India, and the lack of protest from the government in the face of what amounts to the US dictating who India can and can't buy from.

Trump himself had approved of India's reported suspension of crude oil imports from Russia, saying he had "heard" that India had acquiesced to the US demand of not buying Russian oil and energy. However, he has now evidently heard otherwise.

"India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits," Trump said in a social media post.

"They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA," he added.

On 1 August, the US announced a 25 per cent tariff on India as the White House released an expansive list of duties that Washington will impose on exports from countries around the world.

A 25 per cent “Reciprocal Tariff, Adjusted” was imposed on India, according to the list released Thursday. While 1 August was the tariff deadline, the new levies will come into effect from 7 August.

Trump had also threatened to impose penalties on India as punishment for buying Russian crude oil, though the official tariff announcement made no mention of the penalties.

With PTI inputs