New tariff threat on India? Trump's ‘yeah’ after secy's ‘Russia sanctions’ bomb

New turn after a brief thaw between Trump & Modi; US officials say US wants to squeeze Russia's oil revenue as it has continued to find buyers in China, India

Updated on: Sep 8, 2025, 08:41:52 IST

By Aarish Chhabra

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In a development that could have ramifications for India, US President Donald Trump on Sunday said he's ready for another round of sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine. “Yeah, I am,” he told reporters when asked about it at the White House.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington on Sunday, September 7. (AP)

He said no more. But there's key context from just hours earlier, suggesting that the US is moving towards more tariffs and other squeezes on Moscow, and/or its oil buyers such as India.

What US treasury secretary said

Trump's “yeah” followed US treasury secretary Scott Bessent's call for more sanctions on countries that buy oil from Russia — India has been prominent on this list — to ensure the "collapse” of the Russian economy.

Bessent argued that only such a collapse could now force Vladimir Putin into talks with Ukraine. Trump's mediation to bring about peace hasn't really worked so far, despite a summit with Putin in Alaska. The war has, in fact, escalated since.

This newest set of events came just a couple of days after President Trump and PM Narendra Modi had a mutual-appreciation moment through the press and social media.

Also read | ‘Modi friends with Trump, but enemy of nation’: Mallikarjun Kharge on US tariffs

In his reference to “countries that buy Russian oil”, Bessent did not name any as such, but India is the biggest target of US tariffs over this issue. “If the US and the EU can come in with more sanctions, more secondary tariffs on the countries that buy Russian oil, the Russian economy will be in full collapse and that will bring President Putin to the table,” Bessent told NBC.

Russia is already under crippling sanctions from both the US and Europe since the start of the war, but has found customers for its oil and gas in India, China and elsewhere, ensuring a revenue flow.

Top US officials, including Vice President JD Vance, have said the US wants to squeeze this revenue stream. That's why they have called the Ukraine conflict “Modi's war”, with Trump himself having accused India of “fueling the Russian war machine”.

Vance has pointedly said the tariffs on India are “leverage” against Putin.

India has questioned the logic of the 25% “penal” tariff — meaning a total US import duties of 50% on most Indian goods — and argued that it's been buying the oil only in its sovereign national interest.

Also read| ‘Has a mercurial temper’: Shashi Tharoor's note of caution on Trump-Modi ties

Meanwhile, the war on Ukraine grew graver on Sunday as Russia bombed the main government complex in Kyiv.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aarish Chhabra
Aarish Chhabra is an Associate Editor with the Hindustan Times online team, writing news reports and explanatory articles, besides overseeing coverage for the website. His career spans nearly two decades across India's most respected newsrooms in print, digital, and broadcast. He has reported, written, and edited across formats — from breaking news and live election coverage, to analytical long-reads and cultural commentary — building a body of work that reflects both editorial rigour and a deep curiosity about the society he writes for. Aarish studied English literature, sociology and history, besides journalism, at Panjab University, Chandigarh, and started his career in that city, eventually moving to Delhi. He is also the author of ‘The Big Small Town: How Life Looks from Chandigarh’, a collection of critical essays originally serialised as a weekly column in the Hindustan Times, examining the culture and politics of a city that is far more than its famous architecture — and, in doing so, holding up a mirror to modern India. In stints at the BBC, The Indian Express, NDTV, and Jagran New Media, he worked across formats and languages; mainly English, also Hindi and Punjabi. He was part of the crack team for the BBC Explainer project replicated across the world by the broadcaster. At Jagran, he developed editorial guides and trained journalists on integrity and content quality. He has also worked at the intersection of journalism and education. At the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, he developed a website that simplified academic research in management. At Bennett University's Times School of Media in Noida, he taught students the craft of digital journalism: from newsgathering and writing, to social media strategy and video storytelling. Having moved from a small town to a bigger town to a mega city for education and work, his intellectual passions lie at the intersection of society, politics, and popular culture — a perspective that informs both his writing and his view of the world. When not working, he is constantly reading long-form journalism or watching brainrot content, sometimes both at the same time.Read More

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