Trump Warns Of 'Secondary Sanctions' After Imposing 50% Tariff On India; MEA Responds

US President Donald Trump threatened additional secondary sanctions on India owing to its continued purchase of oil from Russia, hours after imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian imports, taking the total to 50 per cent.

Answering the question why India was singled out for penalties for doing business with Russia, he told reporters, "It’s only been eight hours. So, let's see what happens," Trump told reporters when asked why India was being singled out while countries like China also continue to buy Russian oil. "You’re going to see a lot more. You’re going to see so many secondary sanctions."

Trump’s remarks came amid Trump's escalating pressure on countries to end ties with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Escalating his tariff offensive against India, Trump on Wednesday slapped an additional 25 per cent duty, doubling it to 50 per cent on Indian goods over New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil.

'Unfair, Unjustified, Unreasonable': MEA

Strongly condemning the tariff hike, MEA said, "The United States has in recent days targeted India's oil imports from Russia. We have already made clear our position on these issues, including the fact that our imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India', MEA's official statement read.

"We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable. India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests", the statement further read.

In a stern response to US President Donald Trump's threat of 'substantially' increasing tariffs on India for purchasing Russian oil, MEA earlier alleged that such targeting is "unjustified and unreasonable" in light of continued and substantial Western trade with Moscow.

"India has been targeted by the United States and the European Union for importing oil from Russia after the commencement of the Ukraine conflict. In fact, India began importing from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict. The United States at that time actively encouraged such imports by India for strengthening global energy markets' stability."

"Where the United States is concerned, it continues to import from Russia uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear industry, palladium for its EV industry, fertilisers as well as chemicals. In this background, 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", the statement further read.

Trump Imposed 25 Per Cent Tariff On India

On July 31, signing a fresh executive order, US President Donald Trump imposed new reciprocal tariffs ranging from 10 per cent to 41 per cent on over 70 countries. The move was in line with his firm stand on 'long-standing imbalances in trade practices'. As per the updated tariff rates mentioned in the executive order, Indian imports will face a 25 per cent tariff.

In a post on social media, Trump said that the US has a massive trade deficit with India and also criticised India for buying a “vast majority" of its military equipment and energy from Russia as he announced a 25 per cent tariff on India.

Although Trump described India as a “friend”, he criticised the country for having “among the highest tariffs in the world” and “the most strenuous and obnoxious non‑monetary trade barriers of any country”, which he argued have hindered U.S.–India commerce over the years.

"India has been a good friend, but India has charged basically more tariffs than almost any other country. You just can't do that", Trump told reporters, as per media reports.