Chinese Ambassador Jabs Trump Over 50% Tariffs On India
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was unaware that the United States continues to import uranium and fertilizers from Russia. The argument was recently raised by India in its defense against Western criticism over its ongoing oil trade with Moscow.
“I don’t know anything about it. I have to check it out,” Trump told CNBC when asked about India’s pushback, which suggested Washington was unfairly targeting New Delhi while maintaining its own economic ties with Russia.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had released a statement a day earlier, responding sharply to calls from the US and European Union to scale down Russian oil imports. The MEA accused the West of “hypocrisy,” pointing out that American companies still purchase several key commodities from Russia.
Also Read: Who Is Nikki Haley? Meet The Indian-American Politician Who Sided With India in Trump Tariff Dispute
According to the statement, these imports include uranium hexafluoride used in the nuclear sector, palladium for electric vehicles, fertilizers, and other chemical products. Despite continued Western purchases, India has come under increasing pressure to cut ties with Russian energy markets.
Labeling the criticism as “unjustified and unreasonable,” the MEA emphasized that India’s energy policy is guided by economic necessities. The ministry also reminded Washington that it had previously “actively encouraged such imports by India to strengthen global energy markets stability.”
The remarks came as President Trump escalated his stance against India’s continued purchase of Russian oil, suggesting punitive tariffs could be imposed within the next 24 hours.
“India has not been a good trading partner, because they do a lot of business with us, but we don’t do business with them,” Trump said. “So we settled on 25 percent, but I think I’m going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they’re buying Russian oil. They’re fuelling the war machine.”
When asked if he would consider a 100% tariff on countries that continue to engage in energy trade with Russia, including China, Trump indicated that such measures are under consideration.
“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. But we will see what happens… We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow. We’re going to see what happens,” he added.
The president also noted that the upcoming meeting with Russian officials would focus on finding a resolution to the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kyiv.
“This is the one I’m trying to stop. And one I’m working hardest on. The others stopped within a matter of days,” Trump said, referencing efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Also Read: Donald Trump Threatens to Raise India’s Tariffs ‘Substantially In Next 24 Hours’
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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