US President Donald Trump on Wednesday referred to the "secondary sanctions" placed on India as proof of his strong position against Russia.
While addressing a joint press conference with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, Trump brushed aside criticism that he had failed to act against Moscow, arguing that his actions against New Delhi spoke loudly.
“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? If you remember, two weeks ago, I did, I said, if India buys, India’s got big problems, and that’s what happened,” he replied.
The U.S. president further suggested that more restrictions could be on the way. “I haven’t done phase two yet or phase three,” he noted, leaving open the question of whether other major buyers of Russian oil, such as China, could be targeted.
As part of these steps, the Trump administration increased Indian imports by another 25 percent on top of its Russian oil purchases, doubling the tariffs to 50 percent. New Delhi has condemned this step, terming it as "unfair and unjustified."
“They’ve (India) offered me no tariffs in India anymore. No tariffs. If I didn’t have tariffs, they would never make that offer,” he said.
The same day, Trump renewed age-old complaints regarding U.S.-Indian trade relations, calling the relationship "one-sided for many years" and citing high tariffs which he said prejudiced American exports.
“We get along with India very well,” Trump said. “But India, you have to understand, for many years, it was a one-sided relationship,” he added.
In the meantime, Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal reaffirmed that there were ongoing talks between the two nations, adding that there were chances of a "bilateral trade agreement by the fall, November or so.
