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Rubio backs US tariff hike on India for purchasing Russian oil

 Published: 15:03, 24 September 2025

Rubio backs US tariff hike on India for purchasing Russian oil

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has defended Washington’s decision to slap steep new tariffs on India, saying the move was directly tied to New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil despite the ongoing war in Ukraine.

In an interview with Good Morning America on Tuesday, Rubio stressed that while India remains “a very close partner” of the United States, President Donald Trump’s administration had no choice but to act. The 25 percent tariff increase, he said, was part of broader measures designed to tighten economic pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his war machine.
Rubio pushed back against suggestions that Trump had failed to follow through on threats against Moscow. “I think he has taken action,” he said. “For example, we’ve imposed additional tariffs on India — and they’re a very close partner of ours — and we had meetings with them again yesterday and it has to do with their purchase of Russian oil.”
He also cited a proposal from Senator Lindsey Graham, which explicitly targeted countries like India and China that continue to import Russian energy, noting that such imports indirectly help bankroll Russia’s war in Ukraine.
At the same time, Rubio highlighted Trump’s calls for Europe to share more of the burden. “Some countries are still buying enormous volumes of oil and gas from Russia, and that money is fueling the war effort,” he said, urging the European Union to toughen its stance.
Earlier this year, Trump publicly pressed the EU to impose a 100 percent tariff on Indian imports as a way to increase pressure on Putin — a step European leaders were reluctant to take, according to Reuters.
Notably, the Trump administration has avoided placing fresh tariffs on China, despite Beijing being the largest single buyer of Russian oil. That omission has raised questions in Washington policy circles about whether strategic calculations or economic concerns shaped the White House’s approach.
The new tariffs are likely to test US-India relations at a sensitive moment, as both countries deepen defense cooperation while trying to balance their positions on the Russia-Ukraine war.

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