The US president thus increases the pressure on India for his continuous business with Russia, in the middle of Ukraine war. China and Türkiye are currently the largest Russian energy buyers
Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he will double the rates on India from this August from this August, in response to the continued purchase of Russian oil by the country led by Narendra Modi.
The measure is part of a broader strategy to force Kremlin to end the conflict in Ukraine through economic sanctions.
According to the new executive order, cited by Reuters, India will pay a 25% rate on Russian oil as of August 27, which adds to another 25% rate that Trump announced last week by alleged “unfair commercial barriers”. The latter comes into force this Thursday.
Prior to the formalization of the measure, Trump criticized the Indian government on social networks, accusing him of buying “massive amounts” of Russian oil and “selling it in the global market,” adding: “They don’t care about the number of people who are dying in Ukraine by the Russian war machine.”
The executive order also provides to investigate other countries that may be importing Russian oil, directly or indirectly, to apply similar rates or sanctions. China is the largest buyer of Russian energy, followed by Türkiye.
So far, the Indian authorities have not officially reacted, but have indicated that they will not give up on Russian oil purchases.
