US Warns India Of More Tariffs Ahead Of Trump Talks With Putin

India-West News Desk

NEW DELHI — India has emerged as a pressure point in President Donald Trump’s high-stakes diplomacy with Russia, with Washington signaling the possibility of fresh punitive measures tied directly to Trump’s upcoming meeting in Alaska with Vladimir Putin.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on August 13 that secondary tariffs on India could rise depending on the outcome of Trump’s August 15 meeting with the Russian president.

“We’ve put secondary tariffs on Indians for buying Russian oil,” Bessent told Bloomberg TV. “And I could see, if things don’t go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up.”

The warning follows Trump’s earlier move this month to slap an additional 25% levy on India for continuing to buy Russian crude and weapons, doubling existing tariffs to a 50% penalty. The new rate — set to take effect on August 27 — would make India the most heavily taxed U.S. trading partner in Asia.

India’s growing imports of discounted Russian oil — which now account for 35–40% of its supply, up from just 3% before the Ukraine war — have been a constant irritant in Washington. Trump has often called India a “tariff abuser.”

The timing underscores how Trump is using economic pressure on India as leverage ahead of talks with Putin. The White House has warned Moscow of “severe consequences” if it refuses to agree to a Ukraine ceasefire, with Trump banking on sanctions pressure — and India’s trade with Russia — to strengthen his hand.

New Delhi has pushed back strongly. The Ministry of External Affairs called the measures “unjustified and unreasonable,” vowing to safeguard India’s “national interests and economic security.”

Bessent, who a day earlier described India as “a bit recalcitrant” on trade in a Fox Business interview, has made clear that Washington’s patience is running thin.