Donald Trump stated that he was not aware that the U.S. imports uranium and fertilizers from Russia when questioned by an Indian reporter. This exchange took place as trade tensions between the two countries escalated.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Escalating Trade Dispute
The question came during a period of heightened friction between the U.S. and India. Trump recently imposed a 25% tariff on Indian goods and threatened to raise it “very substantially” over India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. The U.S. has accused India of fueling the Russian “war machine” and of being a poor trading partner with high tariffs.
In an interview with CNBC, Trump warned that he would raise the tariffs on India within 24 hours, stating, “India has not been a good trading partner… they’re buying Russian oil.6 They’re fueling the war machine. And if they’re going to do that, then I’m not going to be happy.”
India’s Response
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) responded sharply to the U.S. tariffs, accusing the U.S. and its European allies of hypocrisy. The MEA noted that the U.S. itself continues to import significant amounts of uranium, palladium, and fertilizers from Russia, while the European Union‘s trade with Russia is substantially larger than India’s.
The MEA statement emphasized that India’s imports of Russian oil are a “necessity” to ensure “predictable and affordable energy costs” for its consumers and were initially encouraged by the U.S. administration to stabilize global energy markets.
