US Vice President JD Vance made a strong case for secondary tariffs against India on Sunday — insisting that the ‘aggressive economic leverage’ had impacted Russia. The senior official also claimed that Moscow had now made its first ‘real concessions’ in the Ukraine war during talks between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
New Delhi had turned to purchasing Russian oil sold at a discount after Western countries imposed sanctions on Moscow and shunned its supplies over its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The US has alleged repeatedly claimed in recent days that this was funding Moscow’s war in Ukraine — a charge strongly rejected by India.
‘Aggressive economic leverage to…’
“The President has applied aggressive economic leverage. For example, the secondary tariffs on India to try to make it harder for the Russians to get rich from their oil economy. He’s tried to make it clear that Russia can be reinvited into the world economy if they stop the killing. But they’re going to continue to be isolated if they don’t stop the killing. The president has applied more economic pressure to the Russians to stop this war than Biden did in 3 years,” he said during an interview with NBC News.
Vance also opined that the Russians had made “significant concessions to President Trump for the first time in three and a half years” — contrasting it against the previous Joe Biden administration. He said that Moscow had now become willing to show flexibility on some of their core demands.
What is the secondary tariff row?
The Trump administration has been highly critical of India for its procurement of discounted crude oil from Russia in recent weeks — with a 50% tariff likely to be implemented from next week. Top aides have also held New Delhi responsible for ongoing ‘bloodshed’ in Ukraine — claiming that India was indirectly financing the Russian war and being a “laundromat for the Kremlin”.
New Delhi has pushed back vehemently against the “unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable” decision and indicated plans to maintain its ties with Moscow. Top officials also noted recently that Washington has avoided any blatant critique of China — currently the largest importer of Russian crude oil.
“If you have a problem with India buying oil or refined products from Russia, don’t buy from us. Nobody forces you. Europe buys, America buys, so if you don’t like it, don’t buy it,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said bluntly this week.
(With inputs from agencies)