Trump signals US may not impose secondary tariffs on India over Russian oil

President Donald Trump signaled that the United States may refrain from imposing secondary tariffs on countries that continue purchasing Russian crude, hinting at a possible shift in Washington’s approach to Moscow’s energy lifeline.

There had been apprehensions that any move to enforce additional secondary tariffs would have impacted India, one of the key buyers of discounted Russian crude.

"Well, he (Russian President Vladimir Putin) lost an oil client, so to speak, which is India, which was doing about 40 per cent of the oil. China, as you know, is doing a lot…And if I did what's called a secondary sanction, or a secondary tariff, it would be very devastating from their standpoint. If I have to do it, I'll do it. Maybe I won't have to do it,” Trump said on Friday, 15 August.

Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News aboard Air Force One while en route to Alaska for his high-stakes summit with Putin — a meeting that ultimately ended without any agreement on halting the Russia-Ukraine war.

“We made some great progress today… We had an extremely productive meeting and many points were agreed to.” - President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/WBTMLcI0Cv

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 15, 2025

Tariffs on India over Russian oil prompted Moscow to seek talks with US: Trump

Just a day earlier, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent had cautioned that if ‘things don’t go well’ at the Trump-Putin summit, Washington could escalate secondary sanctions on countries such as India for buying Russian oil.

In a separate interview with Bloomberg, Bessent said, "I think everyone has been frustrated with President Putin. We expected that he would come to the table in a more fulsome way. It looks like he may be ready to negotiate."

“And we 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,” he added.

On whether sanctions can go up or loosened, Bessent had said, “Sanctions can go up, they can be loosened. They can have a definitive life. They can go on indefinitely.”

Trump imposed tariffs totalling 50 per cent on India, including 25 per cent for Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil that will come into effect from 27 August.

Responding to the tariffs, the Ministry of External Affairs has said that the targeting of India is unjustified and unreasonable.

“Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,” it said.

With PTI inputs