U.S. tariff threat met with retaliation from India, who labels American criticism as hypocritical
In a strong response to U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose higher tariffs on Indian goods due to India's imports of Russian oil, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has called the action "unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable."
The MEA emphasized that India's oil imports from Russia are driven by market considerations and the necessity of ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion population. India insists it has the sovereign right to procure energy supplies as per its requirements.
The MEA's statement also criticized the hypocrisy of the U.S. and European Union, who continue to maintain robust trade ties with Russia. The statement highlighted the scale of European trade with Russia, including €67.5 billion in goods and €17.2 billion in services in 2024 alone, and 16.5 million tonnes of LNG imported from Russia in 2024.
India's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, stressed that targeting India for importing discounted Russian oil amid the Western nations' redirecting of usual oil supplies to Europe because of the Ukraine conflict is "unjustified and unreasonable."
The U.S. President had initially encouraged such imports to stabilize global energy markets. However, Trump later threatened to impose higher tariffs over India's continued imports of Russian oil.
On the U.S. side, President Trump officially signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% ad valorem tariff on articles imported from India due to its imports of Russian Federation oil.
This tariff applies to U.S. imports of Indian goods entered for consumption on or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 21 days after the order issued on August 6, 2025. Exceptions apply for goods already in transit before that date.
The article was written by Dr. Mansour Al-Maswari, a Yemeni academician with over 17 years of experience in university-level teaching, research, research reviewing, bilingual translation, and copy-writing. Dr. Al-Maswari holds a Ph.D. in English "Comparative Literature" and two MA degrees, one in political science and the other in English. He is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Columbia University-Global Center, Amman.
The article was published by Al Bawaba, a news outlet with a website. It is important to note that the article does not contain any new standalone facts about the U.S., Europe, or Russia oil imports or the ongoing dispute.
References: 1. India rejects Trump's threat to impose additional tariffs on Indian goods over Russian oil imports 2. India's response to Trump's threat on Russian oil imports 3. U.S. imposes increased tariffs on Indian imports over Russian oil imports
- The MEA's response to U.S. President Trump's threat of higher tariffs on Indian goods due to Russian oil imports accused the action as unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable.
- India's oil imports from Russia are driven by market considerations and the necessity of ensuring energy security for its population.
- The MEA criticized the hypocrisy of the U.S. and European Union, who continue to maintain robust trade ties with Russia.
- The scale of European trade with Russia, including goods and services, was highlighted, totaling €84.7 billion in 2024 alone, and 16.5 million tonnes of LNG imported from Russia in the same year.
- Targeting India for importing discounted Russian oil while Western nations redirect usual oil supplies to Europe because of the Ukraine conflict was deemed unjustified and unreasonable.
- The U.S. President initially encouraged such imports, but later threatened to impose higher tariffs over India's continued imports of Russian oil.
- The article, written by Dr. Mansour Al-Maswari, provided insights into the dispute over U.S., European, and Russian oil imports, but does not contain any new standalone facts about the matter.
