Doval in Moscow even as Trump threatens to raise India tariffs ‘very substantially’
The US President cites India's continued purchase of Russian oil as the reason for new tariffs; NSA Ajit Doval is in Moscow for talks on defence and energy ties
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (August 5) came out with a renewed threat against India saying he would increase the tariffs on Indian imports to the US “very substantially” over the next 24 hours because of India’s continued purchase of Russian oil.
Trump in a televised interview with CNBC reiterated that India has not been a good trading partner because “they do a lot of business with us, but we don’t do business with them”.
“So, we settled on 25 per cent, but I think I’m going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they’re buying Russian oil,” said the US president during the interview.
This statement from Trump came just a day after he said he would “substantially” raise tariffs on imports from India, accusing the latter of purchasing oil from Russia and selling it for profits.
Doval in Moscow
India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval has arrived in Moscow for talks to strengthen India’s defence and energy ties with Russia amid ongoing threats from the US and the European Union about Russian oil imports.
India has responded by calling the threats “unjustified and unreasonable”, saying India’s purchase of oil from Russia is dictated by “economic necessity”.
Doval’s visit to Russia is part of a planned schedule and will focus on defence cooperation between the two countries, according to a TASS report. The talks will also focus on the present escalation of the geopolitical situation and the issue of supply of Russian oil to India.
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The national security adviser is expected to discuss defence industry cooperation between India and Russia, and also issues like the possible acquisition of Russia’s Su-57 fighter jets and more S-400 missile systems as well as setting up maintenance infrastructure in India.
Doval’s visit at this juncture is seen as part of India’s decision to follow an independent foreign policy that maintains partnerships with other nations based on India’s national interests.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is scheduled to visit Russia from August 27-28 to discuss bilateral issues like trade, energy, and defence. He will have meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov.
Trump’s vague comment on tariffs
During a press conference on Tuesday (August 5), Trump gave a vague response when he was asked whether he would impose 100 per cent tariffs on nations that continue to buy oil from Russia, including China.
“I never said a percentage, but we’ll be doing quite a bit of that. We’ll see what happens over the next fairly short period of time. We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow. We’re going to see what happens,” said Trump.
Also Read: India gives US stern answer, but can do little to ward off Trump’s antics
Trump was referring to the negotiations the US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to have in Moscow on Wednesday (August 6).