Relief for India; Trump will not impose additional import duties on countries importing Russian oil

 

 

US President Donald Trump has indicated that he will not impose additional import duties on countries buying crude oil from Russia. Trump's new stance comes amid concerns that the US will impose additional import duties on India in connection with importing Russian oil. Trump made this statement in an interview with Fox News after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. 'Russia has lost an oil customer, and that is India. India imports about 40 percent of its oil. China also buys a lot of oil from Russia. If additional import duties are imposed, it will be a big blow to them. I will do it if necessary. Maybe it will not be necessary,' Trump said.

In an interview given to Bloomberg before the summit, US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant had hinted that additional import duties could be imposed on India for buying Russian oil if the meeting between Trump and Putin did not work out. The meeting did not reach any agreement on ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

Trump has imposed a 50 percent tariff on imports of Russian oil, including an additional 25 percent import duty, against India. This will come into effect from August 27. However, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs had responded that this move targeting India was unfair and unreasonable. India and China are the largest buyers of oil from Russia. Trump had announced last week that he would impose an additional 25 percent tariff on products from India as it continues to import crude oil from Russia. However, no such steps have been taken against China so far