Title: Trump Threatens Higher Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Purchases

WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI _ U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Sunday that the United States could raise tariffs on Indian goods if India doesn’t reduce its purchases of Russian oil, adding tension to the trade relationship between the two countries.

Trump told reporters that the U.S. can “revise tariffs very quickly” and could go beyond the already high 50 percent duties on some Indian products that were introduced last year over energy trade with Russia. (Dawn)

“Modi is a good guy. He knew I was not happy, and it was important to make me happy,” Trump said, referring to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, even as he criticized India’s oil purchases from Russia.

The U.S. is concerned that money from Russian oil could support Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Trump’s warning follows earlier threats, including one in 2025 saying tariffs could be raised in 24 hours if India didn’t change its oil buying habits.

Even with tariffs, India’s exports to the U.S. increased in November, giving New Delhi some economic protection against the higher duties. (Reuters)

Indian officials say they now require oil refineries to report weekly data on Russian and U.S. crude imports. They expect Russian oil imports to drop below 1 million barrels per day as India works to improve trade talks with the U.S.

But there are still big differences over agricultural trade and energy rules. Recent talks between Indian and U.S. trade officials in Delhi did not make much progress, showing the challenge of balancing trade and strategic interests.

Experts say this tariff threat shows the U.S.-India relationship is friendly in words but complicated in practice.