For months, Indian and American trade officials haggled over things like tariffs and import quotas, trying to work out an agreement both sides could live with. President Trump, intent on closing a $44 billion trade deficit with India, threatened to impose tariffs on Indian goods sent to America.
Then, Mr. Trump brought Russia into it.
On July 30, Mr. Trump said that Indian goods would be subject to a 25 percent tariff, a higher rate than its Asian competitors. He berated the country for its purchases of Russian energy, posting on social media that India was “Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE.” For that, Mr. Trump added, India would pay an unspecified penalty on top of the 25 percent levy. A day after saying he would “substantially” increase the 25 percent levy, the president said on CNBC on Tuesday that he would impose higher tariffs on India in the next 24 hours.
Plenty of other people and organizations had made similar arguments about how India was abetting Russia in its war on Ukraine by purchasing Russian oil. But now Mr. Trump had made it part of the U.S.-Indian trade talks.
Along with dozens of other countries, India is facing the prospect of U.S. tariffs starting on Thursday.
Mr. Trump’s demand, which India calls outrageous and unwarranted, has dropped like a stink bomb in the two countries’ trade talks. Here’s what you need to know about the dispute.
Isn’t Russia sanctioned?
Moscow is under sanctions, primarily by the United States and the European Union. In an attempt to hurt Russia’s war effort, the West imposed a cap on the price Russia could charge for its oil.
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The post What to Know About India’s Trade in Oil With Russia appeared first on New York Times.
