- Donald Trump plans 100% tariffs on countries buying Russian oil, including India and China
- Senator Lindsey Graham warned tariffs will target major Russian oil importers to crush their economies
- Graham claims India, China, Brazil buy 80% of Russia's crude exports sustaining Putin's war effort
US Senator Lindsey Graham has warned that American President Donald Trump will impose steep tariffs on Moscow's trading partners --including India and China-- if they don't stop buying Russian oil amid Russia's war in Ukraine. The Republican lawmaker said the Trump administration was planning to impose a 100 per cent tariff on oil-related imports, fueling Russian President Vladimir Putin's campaign against Kyiv.
Graham had earlier proposed a bill calling for 500 per cent tariffs on goods from countries continuing to trade with Russia, including India and China.
"Trump is going to impose tariffs on people that buy Russian oil - China, India, and Brazil... Here's what I would tell China, India and Brazil: If you keep buying cheap Russian oil to allow this war to continue, we're going to tear up the hell out of you, and we're going to crush your economy," Graham said during an interview with Fox News.
He claimed the three countries account for around 80 per cent of Russia's crude exports, which keeps "Putin's war machine going."
"What you (India, China and Brazil) are doing is blood money...He's (Putin) not going to stop until somebody makes him stop."
In a direct warning to Russia, Graham said, "The game has changed when it comes to you, President Putin. You have played President Trump at your own peril. You made a major league mistake, and your economy is going to continue to be crushed."
Graham claimed that by "invading countries that do not belong to him", Putin was trying to recreate the former Soviet Union.
"Putin wants to take countries that are not his. In the mid-90s, Ukraine gave up 1,700 nuclear weapons with a promise that its sovereignty would be respected by Russia. Putin broke that promise," the Republican added.
Trump And NATO's Warming
The fiery remarks seem to signal the Trump administration's growing frustration with Putin's disinterest in ending the war, which Trump once promised to end on the first day of his second term. It's been nearly seven months since Trump returned to the White House, and the conflict is getting worse, with Russia intensifying drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Tired of Moscow's reluctance to reach a truce deal, Trump last week announced new weapons for Ukraine and threatened "biting" secondary tariffs of 100 per cent on the buyers of Russian oil unless there is a peace deal in 50 days. Following this, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte threatened countries such as Brazil, China and India with secondary sanctions if they continued to do business with Russia.
"My encouragement to these three countries... please make the phone call to Vladimir Putin and tell him that he has to get serious about peace talks, because otherwise this will slam back on Brazil, on India and on China in a massive way," Rutte added.
India's Reaction
India responded to NATO chief Rutte's remarks on possible sanctions over India's trade with Russia and cautioned against "double standards". The Foreign Ministry last week said, "We have seen reports on the subject and are closely following the developments. Let me reiterate that securing the energy needs of our people is understandably an overriding priority for us."
The Ministry warned of double standards regarding the matter and said, "In this endeavour, we are guided by what is on offer in the markets and by prevailing global circumstances. We would particularly caution against any double standards on the matter."
