NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday responded to US President Donald Trump’s imposition of an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods over New Delhi’s continued imports of Russian oil by saying that it would protect its national interests in the face of “unjustified and unreasonable” move.
Trump went ahead with his threat to levy an additional penalty over India’s purchases of Russian energy within a week of imposing a reciprocal tariff of 25% on India on July 31. The move increased trade-related tensions between the two sides amid continuing negotiations on a trade deal.
“We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, noting that the US has targeted India’s oil imports from Russia in recent days.
“India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests,” Jaiswal said in a statement.
Jaiswal said it was “extremely unfortunate” that the US had chosen to impose additional tariffs on India “for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest”.
He was alluding to continuing imports of Russian energy, especially LNG, by European Union (EU) member states that have paid Russia $105.6 billion for gas imports since the start of the invasion of Ukraine. Almost 87% of all EU imports of Russian LNG went to Spain, France or Belgium, people familiar with the matter said.
Jaiswal said the Indian side has already made clear New Delhi’s position on energy trade with Russia, including the fact that imports are based on market factors and are done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of India’s 1.4 billion people.
As Trump repeatedly targeted India’s purchases of energy and military hardware from Russia in recent days, New Delhi has defended its long-standing strategic relations with Moscow and said these ties should not be seen through the prism of a third country.
Trump has also contended that India is selling much of the oil it imports from Russia in the open market and helping fund Russia’s war against Ukraine. However, the people noted that the US President has largely been silent on China’s imports of Russian oil, which exceed those of India.
India substantially increased purchases of discounted Russian oil after the West slapped sanctions on Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
