US President Donald Trump has said the additional tariffs imposed on India as “penalty” for buying Russian oil might have prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet him. "Everything has an impact," he said in a radio interview.
Last week, Trump imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on India's already existing 25 per cent levy, taking the total tariff on Indian goods to 50 per cent. He cited New Delhi's trade with Russia despite its war on Ukraine as the reason.
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On Thursday, in the Fox News Radio show, host Brian Kilmeade pointedly asked Trump whether his move to reduce Russia's “deadline” for ending the Ukraine war from 50 days to 10 — along with the possibility of him imposing sanctions on Moscow — was the reason behind his envoy Steve Witkoff hearing from Russia.
"I think everything has an impact," Trump responded. He went on to cite India's example, saying that when he told New Delhi about the doubled tariffs, it "essentially took them out of buying oil from Russia".
{{/usCountry}}"I think everything has an impact," Trump responded. He went on to cite India's example, saying that when he told New Delhi about the doubled tariffs, it "essentially took them out of buying oil from Russia".
{{/usCountry}}However, India's biggest oil-buying corporation said earlier in the day that it has not paused the purchases from Russia.
‘When you lose your second-largest customer…’
Trump noted that India is the second largest purchaser of Russian oil, saying that the country was getting pretty close to China, the largest buyer of oil from Russia. He said "there was something under works for that".
Trump told Fox that it was after the imposition of secondary tariffs on India that Russia called the US. "Certainly, when you lose your second-largest customer, and you're probably going to lose your first-largest customer, I think that probably has a role," Trump said.
Trump further said he thinks that Putin respects the US now, claiming that he did not respect America under his predecessor Joe Biden's administration.
US warns of more tariffs on India
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday warned that Washington could increase the secondary tariffs on India if "things don't go well" between Putin and Trump during the meeting on Friday.
"We've put secondary tariffs on Indians for buying Russian oil. And I could if things don't go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up," Bessent told Bloomberg TV.
Trump's 'severe consequences' warning
Earlier, Trump warned Russia of very severe consequences if it does not stop the ongoing war in Ukraine. He told reporters on Wednesday that Moscow will face actions if it does not agree to a halt after his meeting with the Russian President.
He further said that he will pitch for a second meeting, which will include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"If the first one goes okay, we'll have a quick second one. I would like to do it almost immediately, and we'll have a quick second meeting between President Putin, and President Zelensky and myself, if they'd like to have me there," said Trump.