Trump plans Russia sanctions against India and a 25% increase

India's relationship with Russia

"Remember that India is our friend, but we have done relatively few business with them over the years because their tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the world, and they have the most strictest and uncomfortable non-monetary trade barriers of a country," wrote Trump on Truth. "In addition, they still buy most of their military technology from Russia and together with China are the largest buyer of energy from Russia, at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop hearing in the Ukrainian War - these are not all good things!"

consequences for India's trade agreement

The escalation of the tariffs by Trump is a significant setback for a monthly endeavor to secure a trade agreement that, according to official information, already seemed within reach. High trade officers have changed between Washington and New Delhi for months to achieve a final agreement. But the latest trade agreements with Japan and the European Union have encouraged Trump in the last days before the deadline on August 1, in which the "mutual" tariffs could come back into force, according to the officials.

Trump's objective in trade negotiations

Trump's focus on ensuring concessions when entering the market for US producers is perceived as particularly important, while he has checked the designs for offers in the past few days. An official informed CNN that this created a significant hurdle for the prospects of an agreement with India. "You are ready to go part of the way," said the official. "But the president is not in the mood for 'part of the way' - he wants to remove the barriers completely or as close as possible."

Russia sanctions and their effects

At the same time, Trump has intensified his threat to the introduction of secondary sanctions against Russian energy exports in the course of President Vladimir Putin's refusal to de -escalate attacks on Ukraine. This dynamic will particularly affect India and China, as they buy most of the Russian energy products. India's oil imports from Russia have increased this year, while Russia is still the main supplier to the most populous country in the world. Around 35 % of the total supply of India come from Russia, followed by Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

consequences for trade relationships and sanctions

On Tuesday, Trump told reporters that India would have to pay 25 % tariffs if no agreement was reached by August 1st. When he announced a 50-day ultimate to achieve an armistice over Russia at the beginning of the month, he emphasized that countries that buy Russian oil should expect secondary sanctions. This period has now been postponed to August 8th. Trump officials have made it clear to the partner countries that the threat of exacerbating an extensive US sanction regimen against Russia, taking it seriously and is not a negotiating trick.

Finance Minister Scott Bessent announced on Tuesday that he discussed this message directly during the trade talks in Stockholm with his Chinese counterparts. "I think anyone who buys sanctioned Russian oil should prepare for it," Bessent said at a press conference after the talks.