2x Tariffs on India a ‘warning’ to China which may also face the same, says Donald Trump

Donald Trump (AP)

TOI correspondent from Washington: Punitive secondary tariffs on India is a warning shot aimed at China, which could also face similar tariffs US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, amid indications that New Delhi is becoming collateral damage in a great power fracas.Asked at a White House event why New Delhi is being singled out for secondary tariffs when China is buying more Russian oil than India does, Donald Trump interrupted the questioner twice to say “It’s okay…it’s okay” before warning there will be more secondary sanctions against countries buying Russian oil and gas.“It’s only been eight hours (since he announced secondary tariffs on India) so let’s see what happens…you’re going to see a lot more. You’re going to see so much secondary sanctions,” he said. Asked another time if China could face similar penalties for buying Russian oil “It may happen. I don’t know, I can’t tell you yet. But we did it with India. We are doing it probably with a couple of others, one of them could be China.”

Trump’s feckless approach towards China has been called out by several commentators, including allies like Steve Bannon, even as the MAGA Supremo had turned on Russia even though it wasn’t too long ago that he was taunted as “Putin Puppet.” The pussyfooting on Beijing appears to be on account of the realisation that it is China that holds the aces rather than US. Also read | ‘We don’t want to hurt ourselves’: Donald Trump adviser justifies no Russian oil tariffs on China; calls India ‘maharaja of tariffs’Trump himself acknowledged that India is the second largest buyer of Russian oil behind China (“They’re very close to China in terms of the purchase of oil from Russia”), but he indicated that the shock delivered to India, a country he has frequently referred to as a “friend,” may have have jolted Russia and China to resume talks with Washington. “I don’t know if that had anything to do with it, but we’ve had very productive talks today,” he said, referring to his envoy Steve Witkoff’s parleys in Moscow. Trump also confirmed that the Witkoff visit had set the stage for his meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in the next few days, although he was chary about the outcome of the summit because he had been disappointed before. The date and place of the meeting has not yet been confirmed.Trump’s remarks left the impression that he was using punitive tariffs on India as a warning to China and Russia in an effort to sunder their energy ties and bring the war on Ukraine to an end. While secondary tariffs on India are set to kick in on August 27, a US trade delegation is scheduled to visit India days before that.Read | Donald Trump’s 25% additional tariff on India: What are ‘secondary tariffs’ and how do they differ from ‘secondary sanctions’? Explained