Substantial tariff hike on India in 24 hrs: Trump

Cites New Delhi's Russian oil purchase; Kremlin slams US threats

- SHREYA NANDI & ARCHIS MOHAN

With New Delhi still looking to find ways to respond to the White House threats of increasing tariffs on Indian goods, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued a fresh warning saying he would raise tariffs "very substantially" over the next 24 hours because India is buying Russian oil. He termed India as not a good trading partner.

About the trade deal with India that seemed imminent, Trump said the "sticking point" with India is that its tariffs are too high.

Trump's latest statement on the issue came hours after India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a terse statement on Monday evening, where it termed the targeting by the US and the European Union for importing Russian crude unjustified and unreasonable.

Until the Monday evening statement, Indian officials had said New Delhi did not want to publicly engage in a war of words with Trump, preferring to convey its perceptions to the White House behind closed doors. The developments in the past 24 hours have suggested a hardening of stands between the two countries. Addressing a public meeting in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged Indians to buy locally manufactured products.

In the midst of its tensions with the Trump administration over trade, official sources in New Delhi have said National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will visit Russia this week, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar later this month. The two visits are part of routine India-Russia annual consultations.

This will culminate with the annual summit meeting between Modi and the Russian President with the latter slated to visit India, but are taking place at a crucial juncture in India's ties both with Russia and the US.

In a sign that there may yet be an opportunity to strike a deal before the deadline, Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Russia this week, as early as Wednesday.