US warns of higher secondary tariffs on India if Trump-Putin talks fail: EU must ‘put up or shut up’

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that secondary tariffs on India and China for buying oil from Moscow could be increased, depending on the outcome of President Donald Trump’s upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump is scheduled to meet Putin in Alaska on August 15.

Bessent, speaking in an interview with Bloomberg TV, urged the European Union to join Washington in sanctions against Russia.

“The Europeans need to join us in these sanctions,” Bessent said. “They need to. It’s put up or shut up time.”

He said that if talks with Putin fail, “sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up,” but added that measures could be loosened if the discussions succeed.

Trump signed an executive order last week imposing an additional 25% duty on most Indian imports, on top of an existing 25% reciprocal tariff that took effect August 7. The combined 50% rate, the highest applied to any US trading partner alongside Brazil, is set to take effect August 27.

The order, titled Addressing Threats to the US by the Government of the Russian Federation, follows months of stalled trade negotiations and friction between Washington and New Delhi over India’s energy trade with Russia.

Trump has accused New Delhi of buying discounted Russian crude oil and reselling it at a profit, alleging the practice helps finance Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

“They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian war machine,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The Ministry of External Affairs called the tariffs “unjustified and unreasonable” and vowed to “take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security.”

The escalation comes just days before a US delegation is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on August 25 for the sixth round of talks on a proposed bilateral trade agreement.

India has resisted US demands in politically sensitive sectors like agriculture and dairy, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowing not to compromise the interests of farmers, fishermen and dairy producers.

“I know I will have to pay a heavy price personally, but I am ready for it,” Modi said Thursday at a global conference honouring agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan.

New Delhi is also seeking reductions in US tariffs on steel, aluminium and automobiles, as well as relief from a 26% additional duty on certain exports and concessions for labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, leather, gems and jewellery, chemicals and select agricultural products.