‘Tariffing India won’t stop Putin’s war’: US Democrats panel slams Trump’s higher tariff

The US House Foreign Affairs Committee of Democrats, the Democratic panel overseeing foreign policy, is at variance with US President Donald Trump’s move of imposing a 50 per cent tariff on India over its Russian oil trade and said that higher trade duty “won’t stop” Vladimir Putin from continuing the Ukraine war. The panel said that Trump should instead punish Putin and give military aid to Russia if he really wants the killings in Ukraine to stop. “Tariffing India won’t stop Putin. If Trump really wanted to address Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, maybe punish Putin and give Ukraine the military aid it needs. Everything else is smoke and mirrors,” the Democratic panel said.

The Democratic panel’s remarks came in response to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s warning that New Delhi could face even higher secondary tariffs over the Russian oil trade. In an interview with Bloomberg, Bessent said that the rise in tariffs depends on the outcome of Trump’s high-stakes meeting with Putin in Alaska, which concluded with “productive talks” but without any cessation in the ongoing war.

“We’ve put secondary tariffs on Indians for buying Russian oil. And I could see, if things don’t go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up. I think everyone has been frustrated with President Putin. We expected that he would come to the table in a more fulsome way. It looks like he may be ready to negotiate,” Bessent said.

When questioned about China being the main purchaser of Russia’s crude oil, the US Treasury Secretary said, “Not going to get ahead of the president, but the president is the best at creating leverage for himself, and he will make it clear to President Putin that all options are on the table.”

In its post on X, the House Foreign Affairs Committee Dems also shared a clip of the interview with Treasury Secretary Bessent besides its statement.

European leaders avoided committing to steep tariffs on China: Bessent

In the interview, Bessent also revealed that European leaders were reluctant to back US calls for secondary sanctions at the G7 meeting and avoided committing to steep tariffs on China.

Last week, Trump announced an extra 25 per cent tariff on Indian exports as a “penalty” for continuing Russian energy trade—doubling it to 50 per cent on Indian goods. This is the highest tariff Trump has imposed as per his fresh list, apart from Brazil.

India condemned the “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable” move by the United States, which is likely to hit many sectors like textiles and marine exports.

Interests of our farmers are our top priority: PM Modi

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a strong message stressing that India would never compromise with the interests of its farmers and fishermen, adding that while he knows he will “have to pay the price”, he was ready to do it for the farmers in the country.

“The interest of farmers is our top priority. India will never compromise with the interests of its farmers, livestock holders, and fishermen. And I know that I will have to pay a huge price for this personally, but I am ready. India is ready, for the sake of the country’s farmers, fishermen, and livestock holders,” he said.