Even as President Donald Trump expressed confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be willing to make a deal during their meeting in Alaska on Friday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that India will be at the receiving end if the talks between the two leaders fail.
The meeting between Trump and Putin could have major implications for energy markets, potentially leading to an easing of sanctions against Moscow. An escalation also can't be ruled out if no progress is made on ending the war in Ukraine. For India, a breakthrough during the meeting could ease economic pressure and stabilise strategic ties. However, if the talks fail, India may face further sanctions.
Trump is hoping that he will convince Putin to halt the fighting in Ukraine, but according to Bessent, if things don't go as expected, the sanctions or secondary tariffs, imposed on India for buying Russian oil, could go up. Russian oil makes up 35 to 40 per cent of India's oil imports.
A 25 per cent additional import duty is in place on Indian goods since August 7, and another 25 per cent will come into effect from August 27, raising the total taxes on Indian goods to 50 per cent. India has dubbed the move “unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable.”
"I think everyone has been frustrated with President Putin. We expected that he would come to the table in a more fulsome way. It looks like he may be ready to negotiate. We've put secondary tariffs on Indians for buying Russian oil. And I could if things don't go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up," he was quoted as saying in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
He further said, "Sanctions can go up, they can be loosened. They can have a definitive life. They can go on indefinitely. You know, there's this Russian shadow fleet of ships around the world that I think we could crack down on."
However, despite Trump going into the meeting hoping for an immediate stoppage to the war, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is not so confident as he said, "To achieve a peace, I think we all recognise that there'll have to be some conversation about security guarantees. There'll have to be some conversation about ... territorial disputes and claims, and what they're fighting over."
But I think the President's hope is to achieve some stoppage of fighting so that those conversations can happen, he added.
