US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has cited "implications" that could play out globally if a country like China is sanctioned for its oil trade with Russia. His remarks come weeks after US President Donald Trump threatened an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian imports for buying Russian oil.
In an interview with Fox News, Rubio was asked if plans to sanction Europe for buying Russian oil were on the table. Responding to the question, the US official spoke about implications to secondary sanctions, and citing China's example said, "Let's say you were to go after the oil sales of...Russian oil to China, China just refines that oil, which is sold into the global marketplace and anyone who is buying that oil would be paying more for it or if it doesn't exist, would have to find an alternative source for it."
Marco Rubio further spoke about a Senate bill proposing to sanction countries like India and China for buying Russian oil, and said the US did hear from "a number of European countries" regarding some concerns they may have had about it.
Rubio's latest remarks on risks to sanctioning China bring focus back on criticism of India being singled out for getting additional tariffs over buying Russian oil.
{{/usCountry}}Rubio's latest remarks on risks to sanctioning China bring focus back on criticism of India being singled out for getting additional tariffs over buying Russian oil.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, when Donald Trump was asked by only India was being targeted over its trade with Russia, he had said, "It's only been 8 hours. So let's see what happens. You're going to see a lot more...You're going to see so much secondary sanctions.”
After Trump doubled India's duties to 50% earlier this month, New Delhi had issued a strong response, pointing out that the US was targeting India for "actions that several other countries are also taking".
However, after his high-stakes meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, Trump seemed to have softened his stance on additional tariffs against countries doing business with Russia.
"Well, because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about that (tariffs)," Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity in an interview after the meeting.
Notably, Trump recently extended the tariff deadline for China, which was set to end on August 12, by another 90 days. Presently, US charges 30% tariffs on Chinese imports, including a 10% base rate and 20% in fentanyl-related tariffs imposed by Washington in February and March.