Fate of India tariff depends on Trump-Putin talks today, warns top US official
His comments came as US treasury secretary Scott Bessent warned penalties could increase further if talks with Putin fail.
When asked during a Fox News podcast interview whether his threat of additional sanctions prompted Russia to seek talks that are scheduled for Friday in Alaska, Trump cited the punitive tariffs on India as being one of the factors for bringing Moscow to the negotiations.
'I think everything has an impact. [For instance], when I told India and which essentially took them out of buying oil from Russia, that we're going to charge you more because you're dealing with Russia and oil purchases… India was the second largest and getting pretty close to China. China is the largest,' Trump said.
Trump suggested similar action against China — Russia's largest oil buyer — was being prepared, and such a scenario further prodded the Kremlin: '…When you lose your second largest customer and you're probably going to lose your first, largest customer, I think that probably has a role.'
Earlier, treasury secretary Scott Bessent separately warned that the 50% tariff rate on India could increase if the Putin talks 'don't go well,' underscoring how New Delhi has become caught in Washington's pressure campaign against Moscow.
'I could see, if things don't go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up,' Bessent told Bloomberg on Wednesday.
Trump imposed tariffs totalling 50% on India earlier this month, including a 25% reciprocal tariff and an additional 25% penalty for Russian oil purchases set to take effect on August 27. Bessent emphasised the tactical nature of the approach, saying 'sanctions can go up, they can be loosened. They can have a definitive life. They can go on indefinitely.'
Bessent mentioned targeting Russia's 'shadow fleet of ships around the world' and pressed European allies to impose their own secondary sanctions.
'It's put up or shut up time. The President is creating his own leverage,' Bessent said.
India has otherwise called the US tariffs 'unjustified and unreasonable.' India has been one of the largest buyers of Russian crude since the West imposed sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. India has defended its purchases and criticised the US and the EU for singling it out at a time when other countries buying Russian energy have not faced US penalties.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
29 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Trump, Putin head for high-stakes Alaska summit
ANCHORAGE: Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin flew to Alaska on Friday for a high-risk summit that promises a stern test of the US president's promise to end the bloody war in Ukraine. Both leaders voiced hopes of a productive meeting. But while Trump warned he could judge it a failure after just a few minutes if Putin does not budge, the Kremlin said the two would speak for at least six or seven hours. For the Russian president, the summit marks his first foray onto Western soil since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering a relentless conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people. In recent days Russia has made significant battlefield gains that could strengthen Putin's hand in any ceasefire negotiations. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Anchorage, Trump sounded a positive note. "There's a good respect level on both sides and I think something's going to come out of it," he said. Every word and gesture will be closely watched by European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not included and has refused pressure from Trump to surrender territory seized by Russia. "It is time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America," Zelensky said in a social media post. Trump has called the summit a "feel-out meeting" to test Putin, whom he last saw in 2019, and said Friday he was not going to Alaska to negotiate. "I'm here to get them at the table," he said of the Russian and Ukrainian leaders. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would not forecast the outcome of the meeting. "We never make any predictions ahead of time," Lavrov told Russian state TV after he reached Alaska, wearing what appeared to be a shirt with "USSR" written across it in Cyrillic script. Russia's "position is clear and unambiguous," he said. Trump has promised to consult with European leaders and Zelensky, saying that any final agreement would come in a three-way meeting with Putin and the Ukrainian president to "divvy up" territory.
Mint
29 minutes ago
- Mint
Washington sues Donald Trump over Federal takeover of city police, Judge Ana Reyes to hold emergency hearing
The District of Columbia has launched a legal battle against the Donald Trump administration, seeking to block what city officials describe as an unlawful and dangerous federal takeover of its police force. The lawsuit, filed on Friday by Washington DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb, accuses President Donald Trump of overstepping his constitutional authority and jeopardising public safety. The hearing in DC federal court has begun with Judge Ana C. Reyes, a Biden appointee, presiding the emergency hearing on the city's suit. At the heart of the dispute is President Trump's decision to invoke rarely used emergency powers to place the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) under direct federal control. The move, announced earlier this week, also authorised the deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops to the US capital. The White House insists the intervention is necessary to address what it calls a 'crime emergency,' despite official Justice Department statistics showing crime rates have been falling. Trump's order strips DC's police chief of her operational authority, appointing Drug Enforcement Administration head Terrence Cole as 'emergency police commissioner' with sweeping powers. In her directive, US Attorney General Pam Bondi also revoked city policies limiting police cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and instructed officers to fully enforce laws against blocking streets and occupying public spaces. Filed in Washington federal court, the city's complaint argues that the Home Rule Act of 1973, which grants DC its limited self-governing powers, does not authorise the president to seize direct control of the police force. Instead, it allows the president to request police assistance from the mayor under 'special emergency conditions' — a significantly narrower power. Attorney General Schwalb's filing warns that the federal order 'would upend the command structure of the MPD, sow chaos among more than 3,100 officers, and endanger both the public and law enforcement officers.' Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela A. Smith, in a sworn statement, said her department was given no advance notice of the president's plans. Calling Bondi's directive 'the most dangerous government action' she had witnessed in nearly three decades, Smith warned it posed a greater threat to law and order than the problems it claimed to solve. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said the administration 'has the lawful authority' to act, citing 'failed leadership' in the city and the need to restore public safety. U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro reinforced the administration's focus on tackling violent crime, particularly offences involving young offenders, describing them as 'gangs and crews' who 'think they can beat the hell out of anyone.' DC's unique status — neither a state nor a typical municipality — has long left it vulnerable to federal intervention. Under the Home Rule Act, Congress retains ultimate oversight, and the president controls the city's National Guard. While takeovers of local policing are permitted for up to 30 days during an emergency, they require congressional approval to be extended. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a long-time advocate for D.C. statehood, condemned the move but stopped short of escalating tensions with the White House. Schwalb, however, took a more combative tone, calling Trump's intervention 'unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful.' A federal judge is scheduled to hear Washington's request for a temporary restraining order at 2 pm today. If granted, it could immediately halt the Trump administration's efforts to control the MPD while the legal case proceeds.
Economic Times
29 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Washington DC sues Trump, calling police takeover illegal
Washington D.C. is suing Donald Trump over his attempt to control the city's police force, escalating a power struggle. Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed the lawsuit after Trump appointed Terry Cole as "emergency police commissioner." Schwalb aims to block Trump's takeover, calling it illegal. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Washington sued Donald Trump on Friday over his attempted takeover of the U.S. capital city's police force, escalating a power struggle between the U.S. president and the city's leadership.D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed a lawsuit challenging Trump 's attempt to take control of the district's police force, hours after the Trump administration named Drug Enforcement Administration head Terry Cole as the "emergency police commissioner" in Washington with all the powers of a police said the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, aims to get a ruling that Trump's takeover of the city's police department is illegal. A hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT).Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement, "The Trump Administration has the lawful authority to assert control over the D.C. Police, which is necessary due to the emergency that has arisen in our Nation's Capital as a result of failed leadership."The lawsuit came after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued an order late Thursday transferring control of the police department from the city to the DEA's said on Monday he was deploying hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington and temporarily taking over the city's police department to curb what he has depicted as a crime emergency in the U.S. capital, though statistics show incidents of violent crime have dropped. Washington has a population of about 700, part of that action, federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the DEA, and Customs and Border Patrol, have deployed agents to patrol the streets and carry out who has suggested he could take similar actions in other Democratic-controlled cities including New York and Chicago, has sought to expand the presidency in his second term, inserting himself into the affairs of major banks, law firms and elite universities while extracting political and financial order said the city must receive approval from Cole before it can issue any directives to the roughly 3,500-member police force. It also sought to rescind several of the police department's prior directives, including one that addressed its level of involvement with federal immigration enforcement.A Justice Department spokesperson did not have any immediate comment on the lawsuit that described Bondi's actions as a "brazen usurpation of the District's authority over its own government."Schwalb wrote in a social media post on Friday, "This is the gravest threat to Home Rule DC has ever faced, and we are fighting to stop it."The 1973 D.C. Home Rule Act is a federal law that established local self-governance for the District of includes a provision that gives the U.S. president the power to control the D.C. Police in response to "special conditions of an emergency nature" for up to 30 days. The 30-day period can be extended only by a joint resolution of both chambers of the U.S. Congress, something Trump has suggested he might legal experts said Trump has exceeded his authority under the Home Rule Act, arguing the text of the statute does not authorize a complete presidential takeover of the police Banks, a professor of national security law at Syracuse University, said DC's attorney general has "very solid arguments" that Trump has exceeded the authority granted to him by Congress, but the unprecedented nature of Trump's actions makes it difficult to assess what a judge will do."There's no playbook for this," Banks said. "There's no precedent either way."One challenge for Washington's Attorney General is that the U.S. Supreme Court has in some cases endorsed broad assertions of presidential authority."Historically, courts have been very deferential, for better or worse, to presidential declarations of emergency," said Jill Hasday, a University of Minnesota law lawsuit, which names Trump, Bondi, Cole, and others as defendants, intensifies a growing battle over Washington between Bondi and Mayor Muriel Bowser, who have emerged as the public faces of the power political calculus for Bowser, a Democrat, has been complex this year since Trump came to office in has shown a willingness to cooperate with Trump on issues including law and order, as the city is significantly reliant on federal funding. Yet at the same time she wants to show her voters in an overwhelmingly Democratic city that she's upholding liberal values, including opposition to Trump's immigration crackdown. She has criticized the deployment of troops onto Washington's streets, and decried the move to attempt a federal takeover of the city's police move on Thursday appeared designed to show who ultimately is in charge of Washington's law enforcement, which will form the heart of the legal arguments.
