US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on Wednesday that Washington could introduce more secondary tariffs on India in case the upcoming meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska does not go well. The stakes are high on the upcoming meeting that is to be held on Friday, August 15, intending of negotiating an end to the war that still rages in Ukraine and was initiated by the full-scale Russian invasion that occurred in February 2022.
The threat is amidst the existing elevated trade tensions between the US and India. Trump had first introduced a 25 per cent tariff on the goods of India. In reaction to Indian continued oil purchases of Russian oil, on August 7, he imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff, thus the total duty increases to 50percent. The US President criticised India because of purchasing Russian crude oil in order to fuel the war machine, and he said that this policy would lead to other consequences.
In an interview with the media, Bessent said that the meeting between Trump and Putin is a precious moment to put pressure on Russia and that the US was even encouraging European allies to ensure sanctions become stronger. “The Europeans should participate in these sanctions. The Europeans must be ready to impose these secondary sanctions,” he explained. Bessent mentioned that Trump is establishing leverage in front of the negotiations, and wider international collaboration would increase the effectiveness of sanctions.
On the eve of this week, Trump posed a threat to Russia in case it does not stop its military activity in Ukraine, noting that it would bring about very severe consequences. He ensured that there will be additional punitive action should there be any stagnation in Alaska.
At the same time, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who called upon India to actively contribute to international peace initiatives. Now, in the run-up to the Alaska meeting, India is in careful diplomatic balancing as it tries to establish a balance between strategic relationships between itself and both the US and Russia, amidst heating geopolitical tensions.
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