Tensions between the United States and India are rising after US President Donald Trump warned that he would increase tariffs on Indian goods due to India’s continued imports of Russian oil. This comes as India defends its trade relationship with Russia and accuses the West of following double standards.

Speaking at a White House press conference originally meant to discuss the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Trump said he was not aware of the US importing uranium and fertiliser from Russia, a point that India had used to defend its own trade ties with Moscow.

“I don't know anything about it. I have to check it out,” Trump said when asked about India’s claim that Washington was unfairly targeting New Delhi while still doing business with Moscow itself.

According to trade data, the US has continued to import billions of dollars worth of Russian goods even after the Ukraine war began. Since January 2022, the US has imported $24.51 billion of goods from Russia. In 2024 alone, it imported fertilisers worth $1.27 billion, uranium and plutonium worth $624 million, and palladium worth about $878 million.

Trump’s warning and Nikki Haley’s concern

When asked about his earlier threat of imposing a 100 per cent tariff on countries buying energy from Russia, Trump replied, "I never said a percentage, but we'll be doing quite a bit of that. We'll see what happens over the next fairly short period of time... We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow. We're going to see what happens..."

Trump further said in a CNBC interview that he would “increase the tariff charged on imports from India from the current rate of 25 per cent ‘very substantially’ over the next 24 hours” due to India’s oil trade with Russia. “They're fuelling the war machine, and if they're going to do that, then I'm not going to be happy,” he said.

However, he did not mention the exact rate of the planned tariff hike. He also added that the main issue with India was that its tariffs were too high.

Meanwhile, former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley criticised Trump’s approach. She said on X, "India should not be buying oil from Russia. But China, an adversary and the number one buyer of Russian and Iranian oil, got a 90-day tariff pause. Don't give China a pass and burn a relationship with a strong ally like India."

India has hit back at the warnings by calling them unfair and pointing to ongoing trade between the US and Russia itself.

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