President Trump stood by the steep tariffs he imposed on India as a penalty for buying Russian oil, as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in a display of deepening ties with the Kremlin.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump reiterated his concerns about what he characterized as a trade imbalance, calling the relationship between the U.S. and India “a totally one sided disaster!”
“What few people understand is that we do very little business with India, but they do a tremendous amount of business with us. In other words, they sell us massive amounts of goods, their biggest ‘client,’ but we sell them very little – Until now a totally one sided relationship, and it has been for many decades,” Trump wrote in his post Monday morning.
“The reason is that India has charged us, until now, such high Tariffs, the most of any country, that our businesses are unable to sell into India. It has been a totally one sided disaster!” he continued. “Also, India buys most of its oil and military products from Russia, very little from the U.S.”
The import tax on Indian goods increased to 50 percent on Wednesday, after the implementation of Trump’s additional 25 percent tariff imposed as a penalty for oil purchases that Trump argues are helping fuel Moscow’s war efforts in Ukraine. India already faced a 25 percent “reciprocal” tariff on exports to the U.S.
India has defended buying Russian oil, which it has described as financially necessary to meet the energy needs in its populous country.
“They have now offered to cut their Tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late. They should have done so years ago. Just some simple facts for people to ponder!!!” Trump said in his post.
Some analysts have said Trump’s steep tariffs and his souring attitude toward Modi have inadvertently led India to seek closer ties with Russia and China. Modi met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday.
Just after Trump announced he would increase the tariff on New Delhi to 50 percent, Modi said that he held a “very good and detailed conversation” with “my friend” Putin.
On Monday, Putin and Modi met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the port city of Tianjin, China, where discussions focused on regional stability, bilateral trade and energy cooperation.
In remarks at the start of their talks, Modi called his partnership with Moscow “special and privileged,” and Putin addressed Modi as a “dear friend” and praised the relationship as special, friendly and trusting.
“Russia and India have maintained special relations for decades. Friendly, trusting. This is the foundation for the development of our relations in the future,” Putin said. “These relations are absolutely non-partisan in nature, supported by the overwhelming majority of the peoples of our countries.”
The Associated Press contributed.
