New Delhi: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has accused European allies of refusing to impose secondary tariffs on India and China over its purchases of Russian oil. He said that the message was conveyed by personally by him to the European allies in the spring but they refused. "We asked in the spring. I asked our European allies to join us in imposing secondary tariffs on China and India, but they refused. So, why should the US bear the burden? President Trump will perhaps be in contact with our European partners. Why should the US go along?" Bessent said in an interview with NBC News on Sunday.
Trump's double standards exposed
The statement came days after the United States struck a major diesel deal with Russia, describing the move as being in the "national interest." The controversial move came weeks after Trump signed a bill granting him the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on India for purchasing Russian oil. Since then, the Trump administration has faced criticism from Democrats and members of Trump’s own Republican Party. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the diesel deal as a betrayal.
US waived off sanctions
On Friday, Trump waived key provisions of the Graham Act that authorised punitive tariffs on countries purchasing Russian oil, offering relief to India. The executive order signed by Trump on Friday states that the waivers shall remain in effect until such time as the President or the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Trade Representative, as appropriate, determine that further action is appropriate.
Speaking to reporters at Mar-a-Lago resort near Miami, Trump said his decision to waive sanctions under the Graham Act would benefit the US. "A lot of you don''t know what my decision is yet, but we''ll figure it out, and you''ll figure it out," he said.
"It's a very good decision, and it's going to be a decision that''s good for the country, and I think good for the world because we''re really at a world stage," Trump said.
What Rubio said on waiving of Russian sanctions
Earlier today, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserted the waiver from sanctions on Russia and tariffs on other countries, including India, was a 60-day pause to analyse the global impact of the measure. Rubio was responding to questions on Saturday evening at Joint Base Andrews near here as he left for a six-day tour of Uzbekistan and India.
"I think the president wants to take the 60-day period of time to sort of analyse what imposing both sanctions and tariffs will mean to the global economy, and even to the US economy," Rubio said in response to a question on the waivers granted by Trump under the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act or the Graham Act.
(With inputs from agency)
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