Donald Trump’s Russian sanctions have been an on-now-off-again story. He was initially confident as a dealmaker that he could cajole Vladimir Putin to accept a ceasefire in Ukraine. But the shooting war continued. By July, a frustrated Trump gave Russia a 50- day ultimatum to stop the war or face withering sanctions. By the month-end, between rounds of diplomacy and golf, he shortened the deadline to August 8. ‘Secondary sanctions’ against countries that continued to trade with Russia was part of the punitive measures planned. Even as negotiations for a trade deal were on with India, on August 1, Trump abruptly announced a 25 percent additional tariff on Indian exports for continuing to buy Russian oil. This was in addition to the 25 percent tariff announced earlier
As desperate Indian exporters calculated the crippling effect of the new tariffs, there was again a change of gear in Washington. Trump announced a summit with the Russian president to be held the day the sanctions were to be enforced, which were thus paused. While no deal emerged in Anchorage, there was a shift in goalposts from ‘ceasefire’ to a ‘peace deal’. This being a long, complex process, Russia has now gained an indefinite pause. So, it is only logical that if the body of fresh US-Europe sanctions against Russia have been suspended, the ‘secondary sanctions’ too must go. Strangely, that has not yet materialised. Worse, a US negotiating team that was to continue the trade negotiations in India cancelled its visit. Befouling the air further, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has labeled India ‘recalcitrant’ in the negotiations.
There are other signals that the US tariff heat has not abated despite the new Trump-Putin bonhomie. White House trade advisor Peter Navarro has called on India to stop being “a global clearing house” for Russian oil. It is time India exposed the double standards. China is the largest buyer of Russian crude, importing nearly half of Russia’s oil exports, but faces no ‘secondary sanctions’. Perhaps, Bessent gave the game away that India has been ‘recalcitrant’ about protecting its farm and dairy markets against US imports. Punishing India for buying Russian crude is just an arm-twisting tactic. The answer is for the US to return to the negotiating table to work out a midway deal, rather than destroy its relations with India over unworkable tariffs