By Reena Bhardwaj
Washington, DC, [US], August 7 : A Senior United States Administration Official toldthat there is simply "no comparison" between the hundreds of billions of dollars of growing Indian imports of Russian oil, and the modest US imports of Russia goods.
In response to a question, the US official told: "There is simply no comparison between the hundreds of billions of dollars of growing Indian imports of Russian oil, and the modest U.S. imports of Russia goods, which amount to less than 1% of the value of Indian imports".
The official charged India of "intentionally taking advantage" of the war in Ukraine.
"The U.S. imports from Russia are limited to commodities that we don't currently have good alternatives for but which we are aggressively working to create more domestic alternatives to reduce reliance on Russia. By contrast, India has intentionally taken advantage of the war in Ukraine to dramatically increase its purchases of Russian crude, when there are roughly 40 major crude providers that could satisfy Indian demand," the official added.
On wednesday, US President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on imports from India.According to the order issued by the White House, Trump cited matters of national security and foreign policy concerns, as well as other relevant trade laws, for the increase, claiming that India's imports of Russian oil, directly or indirectly, pose an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the United States.After the order, the total tariff on Indian goods will be 50 per cent. While the initial duty comes into effect on August 7, the additional levy will come into effect after 21 days and will be imposed on all Indian goods imported into the US, except for goods already in transit or those meeting specific exemptions.
Following this announcement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in its response, termed the US's move as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable", declaring that New Delhi will take "all actions necessary to protect its national interests."
In an official statement, the MEA said, "The United States has in recent days targeted India's oil imports from Russia. We have already made clear our position on these issues, including the fact that our imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India."
"It is therefore extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest," the statement added."We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable. India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests," the MEA stressed.
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