US urges Europe to impose tariffs on India
THE White House has asked European nations to impose tariffs on India similar to those applied over Russian oil purchases as US President Donald Trump’s trade measures and the war in Ukraine are set to dominate discussions at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin over the next two days.
According to the sources, the Trump administration has urged Europe to adopt sanctions akin to those already placed on New Delhi by Washington, including a complete halt to India’s oil and gas imports.
The US has also pressed its European partners to consider secondary tariffs on India, replicating threats previously issued to New Delhi if it did not stop buying Russian crude.
The push comes amid India’s sharp objection to the 50 per cent tariffs levied by Trump, which New Delhi has called discriminatory.
Indian officials have repeatedly highlighted what they term Western “hypocrisy”, pointing out that while China remains the biggest buyer of Russian oil and Europe continues to purchase energy products from Moscow, both have largely escaped similar “tariff treatment”.
Washington has accused India of “fuelling” Russia’s war in Ukraine by providing Moscow with revenue through its crude purchases.
Sources further claimed that senior White House officials believe some European leaders are outwardly supporting Trump’s push to end the war in Ukraine but are quietly undermining progress made since the Trump-Putin Alaska summit.
While the US has been particularly vocal in criticising India for what it alleges is “profiteering” from discounted Russian crude, most European nations have remained silent on Trump’s tariff decision, neither openly endorsing nor opposing it.
“White House officials are losing patience with European leaders, whom they claim are pushing Ukraine to hold out for unrealistic territorial concessions by Russia,” a top Oval Office source told the media.
According to the sources, European leaders have been advising Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to hold out for a “better deal” — a maximalist stance that Trump’s inner circle argues has only worsened the conflict.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to hold talks on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Tianjin. Trump’s tariffs on India and the broader war in Ukraine are expected to take centre stage during the discussions.
