Trump Hints at Secondary Sanctions After 50% Tariff on India

Trump Hints at Secondary Sanctions After 50% Tariff: Hours after slapping 25% more tariffs on Indian imports, taking the total to 50%, US President Donald Trump warned of more secondary sanctions on India for buying oil from Russia.

“It’s only been eight hours. So, let’s see what happens,” Trump told reporters when asked why India was being targeted while China also continues to buy Russian oil. "You’re going to see a lot more. You’re going to see so many secondary sanctions".

Let’s first understand the concept of “secondary tariff” which is that when a country (like the US) imposes a certain percentage of tax as a penalty on one country’s goods, not to punish that country directly, but to indirectly influence, or in other words, put pressure on another country.

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For example, the US is imposing higher taxes on Indian goods. But the real target is Russia. The US wants India to stop buying oil from Russia. So, it’s using tariffs on India to try and influence India’s actions toward Russia.

This is similar to secondary sanctions where the US doesn’t just punish the country it has issues with, it also punishes others who do business with that country, hoping they will stop helping it. In short, it’s a way to hurt or pressure a country indirectly, by going after their trading partners.

India has strongly condemned the tariff hike, calling it “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”.

"The United States has in recent days targeted India’s oil imports from Russia. We have already made clear our position on these issues, including the fact that our imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India," the Ministry of External Affairs said in an official statement.

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"India will take all necessary steps to protect its national interest. The US decision is extremely unfortunate and goes against the principles of mutual respect and strategic partnership," it added.

India has consistently defended its right to maintain energy relations with Russia, citing national interest, energy security and competitive pricing.

Bloomberg says this new tariff looks more like a pressure tactic. Trump wants India to stop buying oil from Russia. By making Indian goods more expensive in the US market, he’s trying to push the Indian government to follow the US and ban Russian oil. The bigger goal here is to cut off Russia’s oil income which is a major source of funding for its war against Ukraine.

"It may happen... I can't tell you yet," Trump said. "We did it with India. We are doing it probably with a couple of others. One of them could be China".

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