Trump hints at possible new China tariffs after imposing 25% levy on India

Hours after slapping a punitive 25 per cent tariff on Indian imports over its continued purchase of Russian oil despite his repeated warnings, US President Donald Trump signalled on Wednesday that China could be next. “Could happen,” Trump responded when asked if he had similar plans to enact more tariffs on China. The “America first” leader said that there will be “a lot more” secondary sanctions, noting that India was “very close to China in terms of the purchase of oil from Russia”. “It’s only been eight hours ... You’re going to see so much secondary sanctions”. Earlier in the day, Trump signed an executive order invoking his emergency presidential powers to impose new levies on India. The move came after months of high-stakes trade talks hit a deadlock without a breakthrough. The new duties, set to take effect in 21 days, double the total tariffs on Indian exports to 50 per cent, following an earlier 25 per cent hike imposed as part of “reciprocal” measures. While the executive order does not explicitly name China, it grants the US government broad authority to monitor any country “directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil” and to recommend whether similar tariffs should be imposed. The latest action reinforces the impression that the Trump administration is willing to weaponise tariffs to achieve geopolitical ends. China’s foreign ministry on Wednesday pushed back against Trump’s threat of new tariffs for buying Russian oil. “Coercion and pressuring will not achieve anything. China will firmly defend its sovereignty, security and development interests,” the ministry said in a social media post. China remains a major buyer of Russian crude as well, importing a record 108.5 million tonnes last year, nearly 20 per cent of its total oil supplies. Other key buyers include Turkey, the European Union and Brazil. India’s foreign ministry called the new US tariffs “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”, saying the imports are “based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India”. “It is therefore extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest,” it said in a statement. New Delhi did not say whether it would retaliate against the move with levies against American products. The US last year bought US$45.8 billion more in goods from India than it sold to the country. India sells gems and jewellery, along with textiles and apparel, to the US. It is also a major supplier of pharmaceuticals. US negotiators, led by Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, are expected to visit New Delhi on August 24 for another round of talks on a trade deal. The White House made the announcement after its envoy, Steve Witkoff, met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday ahead of the US-imposed Friday deadline for Russia to reach a ceasefire with Ukraine or face new economic sanctions. Witkoff’s visit came as Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval was holding high-level trade and security meetings in the Russian capital. In a social media post shortly after imposing the new India tariffs, Trump called Witkoff’s meeting “highly productive”, citing “great progress”. He added that the US, along with European allies, will work towards an end to the war “in the days and weeks to come”. Citing new tariffs on India, Trump told reporters on Wednesday, “I don’t know if that had anything to do with it, but we’ve had very productive talks today.” Before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russian oil accounted for just 2 per cent of India’s crude imports. Today, it makes up nearly 35 per cent, despite mounting pressure from Washington to scale back ties with Moscow. Trump had been pressing New Delhi by threatening new sanctions, arguing that India’s “massive” oil purchases were funding Russia’s “war machine”. Last month, speaking alongside Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, Trump expressed frustration with Putin and added, “we’re going to be doing secondary tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days”. Some experts say Trump’s actions risk undermining decades of painstaking efforts to build bilateral trust, as well as Washington’s recent strategy of positioning India as a key counterbalance to China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Others, however, contend that tensions between the US and India show alignment against China is not enough to prevent tariffs. “This marks a low point in US-India relations, and the hard rhetoric can harm the gains the two sides have worked hard to build over the past few years,” said Farwa Aamer, director of the South Asia Initiative at Asia Society, a think tank in New York. She added that Washington must take into account India’s strategic importance as a China counterweight. “If US-India ties get strained further, it only helps China’s maintain and expand its influence. It also makes a strong case for India to ensure that its own relations with China remain stable,” Aamer said. However, Nirupama Rao, former Indian ambassador to the US and China, argued that the escalation shatters the “assumption that strategic alignment vs China” guarantees “immunity from tariffs”. “Next move? Quiet diplomacy + market diversification + selective retaliation,” she wrote in a social media post.

Trump hints at possible new China tariffs after imposing 25% levy on India

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}US president predicts ‘a lot more’ secondary sanctions stemming from continued purchases of Russian oil

US president predicts ‘a lot more’ secondary sanctions stemming from continued purchases of Russian oil