Donald Trump is putting an additional 25% tariff on imports from India, one of the very few American tariffs I.can actually get behind.
The stated reason for the imposition is India's continued and increasing purchases of Russian crude oil, which the civilized wotld is supposed to be sanctioning since Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. Before the Ukraine war, India imported just about 2% of its crude from Russia, but that has shot up to 35% today, as India takes advantage of Russia's bargain basement prices for its few remaining customers. No-one ever accused Narendra Modi of suffering from an excess of morality.
Thing is, though, where was Trump's outrage over India and Russia until now. Well, he has been trying to developed a bromance with both Putin and, more recently, Modi, but is clearly belatedly realizing that neither of them really want to be friends, let alone lovers. Trump is pretty slow in some respects.
And what is the logic of punishing India in this way, while leaving alone China, which is by far the largest importer of Russian oil, and a huge supporter of Russia's war effort? Consistency has never been Trump's strong suit.
The move also makes an already tangled web even more tangled. London-based environmental and human rights group Global Witness claim they have evidence that the US imported 30 million barrels of Russian oil, worth an estimated $180 million to the cash-strapped Kremlin, through, wait for it, India (and Turkey).
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