Russia-India trade breaks records amid US tariff warnings

Russia and India have strengthened their trade relations amid global tensions stemming particularly from the US. According to AL24 News, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has announced on August 21st that the trade turnover between Russia and India has reached unprecedented levels. Lavrov spoke at a press conference in Moscow, alongside his Indian counterpart, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Lavrov announced that Moscow may potentially increase their oil deliveries to India.

This announcement comes despite pressure from US President Donald Trump, who doubled US tariff rates on Indian goods due to India-Russia economic relations. India’s purchase of US oil is what fuelled Trump’s decision to sign the executive order, which will take effect on August 27th. Trump also threatened other countries with increasing tariff rates if they continued trading with Russia also. 

Despite his enforcement of strategic pressure, Trump had also expressed his anticipation for normalised trade relations between the US and Russia before a meeting between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Following the threats from Washington to impose an increased tariff on New Delhi for purchasing Russian fuel, Indian state-owned refineries did briefly halt Russian oil imports on August 7th. However, they resumed purchases on August 20th. Several state companies have subsequently scheduled deliveries for September.

Lavrov has also addressed the conflict in Ukraine. He said that he briefed Jaishankar on Moscow’s most recent contacts with Washington, and noted that Russia is potentially considering ways of implementing outcomes that will safeguard each party’s security interest. Lavrov also added that recent statements made by Ukrainian politicians reflect an unwillingness to pursue peace. 

This opposes Trump’s diplomatic efforts to end the war. On July 14th, Trump warned Putin of proposed economic penalties on Russia if a peace deal could not be reached within 50 days. He stated that he was “very unhappy” with Russia, and that he would impose “very severe tariffs” if the deal could not be reached. Throughout his 2024 presidential campaign, he repeatedly insisted that within 24 hours of taking office, he would be able to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

AL24 News, Maghrebi.org