US President Donald Trump on Monday said he would “substantially” raise tariffs on India, accusing the country of buying massive amounts of Russian oil and selling it on the open market for significant profits. “India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian oil, they are then, for much of the oil purchased, selling it on the open market for big profits,” Trump said in a social media post. “They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian war machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the tariff paid by India to the USA,” he added.

Last week, Trump launched a sharp attack on India and Russia over their close ties, saying the two countries could take their “dead economies down together.” The remark prompted a response from New Delhi, which asserted that India is the world’s fastest-growing major economy. The White House had announced last week that India would face tariffs of 25 per cent after Trump issued an executive order listing various duties Washington will impose on exports from several countries.

Declaring that the US has a massive trade deficit with India, Trump had said: “While India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are far too high — among the highest in the world — and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any country.”

“Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia and are Russia's largest buyer of energy, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine — all things not good!” he added.