Russia says rising tariffs threaten US and global economy
Zakharova was commenting on U.S. trade policy under President Donald Trump, who has aggressively raised tariffs on countries exporting to the U.S.
Trump last week also threatened heavy new sanctions against Russia and countries that buy its exports unless Moscow agrees to a Ukraine peace deal by early September.
Zakharova told a press briefing that U.S. actions could lead to a "fragmentation of the world economy", and the U.S. had become a source of additional instability in world trade.
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What's more, any aggressive pivot away from cheap Russian oil to pricier U.S. crude would drastically change the economic outlook for Indian oil refiners and consumers, and likely result in a surge in fuel prices that would cause economic harm. Since 2022, the official prices of the main grade of Russian oil imported by India have averaged around $70 a barrel, which is around $10 cheaper than the price of the main U.S. crude for export over that same period, data from LSEG shows. As Indian importers likely secured their Russian oil supplies at even lower prices, the real discount compared to U.S. prices is likely larger. That in turn means that there is almost no prospect of Indian refiners being able to profitably switch to U.S. crude any time soon, even if pressured to do so. U.S. trade negotiators have touted U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a means of reducing trade gaps, as a single LNG cargo can cost several million dollars. 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