US State Department declines to comment on India's response to Trump’s tariff threat

New York, Aug 6
US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce refused to comment on India’s reactions to President Donald Trump’s threats to impose punitive tariffs for buying Russian oil.

Asked by a reporter on Tuesday about External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s comments, she said, “I will not characterise or remark on another nation's comments about what they will or will not do”.

She added with a touch of irony, “I can barely do that here”. But she added a criticism of India’s oil purchases, saying Trump "is the guiding hand, and when it comes to what Russia is doing and those nations that are facilitating this war on Ukraine, it will be up to President Trump about how to respond”.

Bruce was speaking at the regular briefing for reporters held after Trump had said that he would impose a heavy tariff on India in 24 hours for buying Russian oil and reselling products from it, over the 25 per cent tariff he had announced on Friday.

“They are buying Russian oil and fueling the Russian war machine”, he alleged.

EAM Jaishankar said on Monday in an implied criticism of the tariff threat, but without mentioning Trump, “We live in complicated and uncertain times. Our collective desire is to see a fair and representative global order, not one dominated by a few”.

The External Affairs Ministry said, “Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security”.

It also criticised the inherent double standards in singling out India, pointing out that the European Union’s Russia trade was $67.5 billion, and Washington was also buying uranium, palladium, fertilisers and other chemicals.

Nikki Haley, a former US cabinet-level permanent representative to the UN who ran against Trump for the Republican Party's presidential nomination, also brought up the singling out of India, warning it could "burn" ties with "strong ally" New Delhi.

She wrote on X, "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. Don’t give China a pass and burn a relationship with a strong ally like India".

Explaining and justifying Trump’s strategy of imposing the tariff penalty, known formally as secondary tariffs, Bruce said Trump has many tools in his tool chest.”

“This is one of them he (and in which he) has invested a great deal of and will continue to regarding the wars and the conflicts around the world to stop them”, she said.

“And as a businessman, he likes to use, understandably, the tools that can make a difference with countries we usuall” she said.

"It is about economy”, she added. “And that's a very specific approach. It's something every country can understand”.