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Trump doubles down on tariffs threats as India, China push back

Aug 4, 2025, 6:28am EDT
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 A man walks inside a conference room used for meetings between military commanders of China and India.
Adnan Abidi/Reuters

Donald Trump doubled down on his threats against India on Monday, vowing to penalize nations profiting from Russian oil.

He vowed to “substantially” raise tariffs on imports from India, which is facing a 25% levy, and accused New Delhi of buying “massive amounts of Russian oil,” and reselling it “for big profits.”

India and China — among the biggest importers of Russian oil — have pushed back against the White House’s threats of “secondary sanctions” on countries that buy oil from Moscow.

Despite positive signs of a US-China trade deal, Beijing has refused to budge over Russian energy imports, signaling its willingness to play hardball, while US-India relations — until recently on the upswing — have soured over the oil tariff threats, as well as heavy US duties on imports from India.

A chart showing Russia’s oil exports by country.
AD