‘Don’t give China a pass’: Nikki Haley backs India amid Trump tariff threat

“India should not be buying oil from Russia. But China, an adversary and the number one buyer of Russian and Iranian oil, got a 90-day tariff pause. Don’t give China a pass and burn a relationship with a strong ally like India,” she wrote on X.

Haley’s statement for India comes after Donald Trump said he would issue a fresh tariff rate for India in the next 24 hours due to its purchase of Russian oil.

On Monday, the US president took to Truth Social and stated that he will “substantially increase” the tariffs against India due to its purchase of Russian oil amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Also Read | ‘India fuelling war machine’: Trump ‘may substantially raise’ tariff in 24 hours

“They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA,” said Trump.

Following this statement, India accused the US and European Union for its ‘unjustified and unreasonable” targeting of New Delhi. In a strong response, the Indian government flagged the US and EU’s history of trade ties with Russia.

Furthermore, Russia also came to India’s defence on Tuesday and said any statements against Russian trading partners will be perceived as “threats”.

“We hear many statements that are in fact threats, attempts to force countries to cut trade relations with Russia. We do not consider such statements to be legal,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.