Nikki Haley criticised President Trump for threatening higher tariffs on India while giving China a 90-day tariff pause.
Trump accused India of "fueling" Russia’s war machine through oil imports and pledged to raise tariffs “very substantially.”
Haley said China is the top buyer of Russian and Iranian oil, calling out the contradiction in Trump’s policy approach.
Republican leader Nikki Haley, on Tuesday warned the US against damaging ties with India while appearing lenient toward China, after former President Donald Trump criticised New Delhi for its energy imports from Russia.
According to PTI, “India should not be buying oil from Russia. But China, an adversary and the number one buyer of Russian and Iranian oil, got a 90-day tariff pause,” Haley said in a post on X. “Don’t give China a pass and burn a relationship with a strong ally like India,” she added.
Haley, a former US ambassador to the UN during Trump’s first term and the first Indian-American to serve in a cabinet-level post, made the remarks in response to Trump’s comments earlier in the day, where he accused India of not being a “good trading partner.”
Trump told reporters that he would raise tariffs on Indian goods “very substantially over the next 24 hours,” citing India’s continued purchase of Russian oil as the reason. He claimed India was “fueling the war machine,” referring to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
India on Monday defended its crude oil purchases, calling out what it described as “unjustified and unreasonable” targeting by the US and European Union, as reported by PTI.
Meanwhile, Trump struck a conciliatory tone on China, calling relations with President Xi Jinping “very good.” Speaking to CNBC, Trump said he may meet Xi “before the end of the year” if the two countries finalise a trade agreement. “We're getting along with China very well. We have a very good relationship,” he said, adding that China is “very reliant” on the US, reported PTI.
