Is US being hypocritical? How Rubio justified 50% tariff threats on India, while China avoids penalty

After US President Donald Trump imposed additional tariffs on India over its oil purchases from Russia, critics have questioned why he has not imposed similar duties on China, which is the largest buyer of Russian oil. Clarifying the administration’s reasoning behind this, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that any additional sanctions on Beijing could result in increased energy costs. He added that it can lead to disruption in global markets.

In an interview with Fox Business, Marco Rubio acknowledged that the Trump administration has not imposed sanctions on China despite the country being the top buyer of Russian oil, while it has imposed 25 per cent tariffs in addition to the initial 25 per cent duties earlier, citing Russian oil purchases. The move has resulted in a strain between Washington and New Delhi, which is currently among the nations facing the highest rates of US tariffs. Trump has also claimed that India’s economy is “dead”.

Meanwhile, India has called the tariffs unjust and unreasonable, adding that it will take necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security.

“If you put secondary sanctions on a country – let’s say you were to go after the oil sales of Russian oil to China. Well, China just refines that oil. That oil is then sold into the global marketplace, and anyone who’s buying that oil would be paying more for it or, if it doesn’t exist, would have to find an alternative source for it,” Rubio said.

When asked about the possibility of US sanctions on Europe, he said, “Well, I don’t know about on Europe directly, obviously, but certainly there are implications to secondary sanctions.” He further added that the US doesn’t want to get into a tit-for-tat with the Europeans on this matter.