August 16, 2025

A spicy showdown is brewing between the US and India over Russian oil! US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has boldly announced that the US has slapped secondary tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. And guess what? If things don’t get better, these tariffs might even go higher! Bessent said, “We’ve put secondary tariffs on the Indians for buying Russian oil. And I could see if things don’t go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up.” This hints at even tougher US moves if India doesn’t back down. But wait, the plot thickens. Democrats in the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, the team that oversees America’s foreign policy, are not impressed. They fired back, saying these tariffs on India “won’t stop Putin.” In a strong message on X (formerly Twitter), they wrote, “Tariffing India won’t stop Putin. If Trump really wanted to address Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, maybe punish Putin and give Ukraine the military aid it needs. Everything else is smoke and mirrors.” Their words make it clear: according to them, targeting India is just going around in circles, not tackling the real problem — Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Ukraine war. The drama involves the former US President Donald Trump too. Bessent said Trump is ready to use all tricks up his sleeve. “I’m not going to get ahead of the president, but the president is the best at creating leverage for himself, and he will make it clear to President Putin that all options are on the table,” Bessent added. This means Trump’s government might crank up pressure on Russia in surprising ways. Bessent also revealed that sanctions are like a flexible game piece that can go up, down, or even be lifted. He named a “Russian shadow fleet” of ships sailing around the world that the US might try to clamp down on next. However, it looks like European leaders are being a bit hesitant. At a recent G7 meeting in Canada, Bessent said Europe did not fully back the idea of steep secondary tariffs, especially on China, which is another hot topic. He humorously mentioned, “I looked at all the leaders around the table, and I said, is everyone at this table willing to put a 200 per cent secondary tariff on China? And you know what? Everybody wanted to see what kind of shoes they were wearing.” That’s a cool way of saying the Europeans were avoiding giving a straight answer! So what’s the big takeaway? The US is turning up the heat on India to cut off Russia's oil money, but the politics are tangled with mixed signals from allies. Democrats want a sharper focus on helping Ukraine, while Trump’s team is keeping all options open, including harsher sanctions. India, caught in the crossfire, faces growing pressure in this global chess game over the Ukraine war. Will this strategy work? Only time will tell! Stay tuned for more updates on US politics, global sanctions, and the ever-drama-filled world stage!

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Tags: Us tariffs, India, Russian oil, Scott bessent, Trump, Ukraine war,