Following failed trade negotiations with Delhi, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on India even further for "buying massive amounts of Russian oil" and "selling it on the open market for big profits."
“They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA.” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Aug. 4.
Trump has previously advocated for tariffs as a punishment for countries continuing to trade with Russia, with a bill supporting secondary tariffs up to 500% now gaining broad support.
However, the U.S. threat of sanctions on Moscow if Russian dictator Vladimir Putin doesn’t agree to talks by Trump’s Aug. 8 deadline doesn’t seem to be having much effect. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated that the Kremlin will only negotiate if its preconditions are met.
Meanwhile, Brussels is preparing to pursue sanctions against China for covertly supplying drone engines to Russia, despite Beijing's denials. Fifteen EU countries have confronted Beijing about shipping the Chinese-made engines to Russia via front companies and labeling them as “industrial refrigeration units” to evade Western sanctions.
“It’s fair to say that without Chinese support, the war would look very different right now,” an EU diplomat said.
“After August, we’ll push for sanctions. We want dialogue, but also action.”