DON’T DENT TIES: INDIA FIRES BACK ON TRUMP TARIFFS OVER RUSSIAN OIL
Written by Michael Thervil
[INDIA TRUMP TARIFFS RUSSIAN OIL] With American President Donald Trump seeking to impose 100% tariffs on goods, products, and services being exported from India, in a last-ditch effort to stop India from importing Russian oil, gas, and energy. The Indian Government has made its position “clear” on President Trump's threat of weaponizing retaliatory tariffs against India. The Indian Government reiterated its decision to “protect its trade and economic interest”. India has also warned the Americans to not “dent ties” or the bilateral relationship both countries share. This comes on the heels of the American Congress passing a bill into law Wednesday that would allow President Trump to target countries that purchase Russian oil and gas.
While the Trump Administration and the American Congress take on the perspective that by preventing countries from purchasing Russian oil and gas, it would be cripple Russia ability to not only continue its defeat of Ukraine in the battlefield by adversely affecting Russia energy and military defense industries, but its ability to project power throughout eastern and western Europe. Many Economists and Geopolitical Analysts are calling it a “failure before it becomes law” due to the fact that India is not only a nation of over 1.4 billion people; but it’s also the third biggest importer of Russian oil and gas after China and Türkiye.
For India, the refusal to purchase cheap Russian oil, gas, and energy would be tantamount to socio-economic suicide. Along with the Trump Administration application on retaliatory tariffs comes what's known as secondary tariffs that take the form of increasing the amount of taxes third party countries will have to pay if they trade with a country that the original tariff imposing country places tariffs on. Secondary tariffs serve as additional pressure for third party countries to de-incentivize the likelihood of them conducting business or trade with the country that was the primary target for tariffs.
Economists and Geopolitical Analysts alike point to the fact that the weaponization of tariffs against countries like India and China will do nothing but drive them closer to strengthening diplomatic and commercial trading ties. With necessity being the mother of invention, it can easily be forecasted that all countries adversely impacted by President Trump 's decision to apply 100% tariff on Indian goods, products, and services, will further isolate America from the global market as America could continuously be seen as a “risky trading partner” on the global stage.
OUR POSITION AT VEDA WORLD NEWS
The question of the day seems to be “Will the application of 100% tariffs on countries like India and China place any pressure on Russia?" From our perspective the answer is yes, and the application of these tariffs in a multi-polar world will force Russia to seek out new and innovative ways to move and profit off its oil. Remember, there are more “Developing Countries" in the world than first-rate countries like the U.S., India, Russia, Australia, and China. Russia still has a lot of geopolitical influence in Africa and elsewhere around the world and with its ability to price its oil and gas at a rate that many developing countries within the continent of Africa and elsewhere can’t ignore; it's sure to find plenty of purchase for its oil.
In the case of India, with its 1.4 billion population it can easily be predicted that it will never stop its purchasing of Russian oil – despite the tariffs placed on Russian oil and gas by President Trump. India like all nations will put not only its sovereignty first, but it will put its people as well as its strategic interest first which in this case is its ability to purchase cheap Russian oil and gas at a fraction of the cost it would have to pay if they were to get their oil and gas from someplace else.
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