US President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended his administration’s decision to impose steep tariffs and secondary sanctions on Indian imports, arguing that the measures amount to a direct blow against Russia due to New Delhi’s large-scale purchases of Russian oil.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda, Trump dismissed criticism over his lack of overt actions against Moscow since taking office in January, insisting that punishing Russia’s biggest energy buyers hits the Kremlin "to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars."

Trump singled out India as the largest consumer of Russian crude after China, warning that continuing imports could trigger even harsher penalties under planned “Phase-2” and “Phase-3” tariff regimes. 

India has already absorbed a heavy trade impact, with Washington imposing a 25 percent levy earlier this month, followed by an additional 25 percent secondary sanction on August 27—bringing total duties to 50 percent on Indian goods. The President stressed that these policies should not be viewed as inaction against Russia, but rather as indirect economic warfare.

Elaborating on trade ties, Trump reiterated his longstanding complaint that India had historically been “the most highly tariffed nation in the world.” He revealed that New Delhi, in response to escalating US tariffs, had privately offered Washington a “no tariff” arrangement.

Trump claimed credit for forcing such an unprecedented concession, asserting that without hardline measures, India would never have come forward with the offer.

In a separate media interaction earlier this week, Trump described the US-India trade balance as a “one-sided disaster,” arguing that while India has profited for decades by selling a vast array of goods to the American market, US companies faced severe restrictions and high duties while entering India.

He said the new tariff strategy was aimed at correcting structural imbalances and reasserted his belief that tariffs are the only way to extract fair terms.

Despite suspending new tariffs against China until November, Trump maintained that India could not expect similar reprieve given its reliance on discounted Russian crude.

He warned that failure to disengage from Moscow’s oil trade would place New Delhi at risk of even greater commercial penalties in the months ahead. “Two weeks ago, I said if India buys, India has got big problems, and that’s what happened,” Trump remarked pointedly.

Based On ANI Report