US Treasury Secretary Warns Of Higher Sanctions On India If Alaska Talks Fail, India Now Faces 50% Tariffs On Indian Imports

14th August 2025 at 4:40 PM

1 minute read

The US Treasury Secretary has warned that the Trump administration could impose additional secondary tariffs on India, with the final decision depending on the outcome of a meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

New York : The US Treasury Secretary has warned that the Trump administration could impose additional secondary tariffs on India, with the final decision depending on the outcome of a meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US may impose further secondary sanctions if the talks in Alaska on Friday fail to yield positive results.

“We’ve put secondary tariffs on Indians for buying Russian oil. And I could see, If things don’t go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up,” Bessent said in an interview. Trump recently imposed a 25 per cent penalty on Indian imports and added an extra 25 per cent tariff on purchases of oil and weapons from Russia.

With the total tariffs now standing at 50 percent, the decision has been met with strong opposition from India, with the government calling the tariffs unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable, and defending its oil imports as a matter of national energy security.

Bessent described India as “a bit recalcitrant” in trade negotiations. New Delhi and Washington had been engaged in talks that hit a roadblock earlier this month, with Trump announcing a suspension of the discussions over the Russian trade and reportedly over other concerns.

Trade negotiations may resume with US negotiators expected to arrive in India on 25 August, just two days before the 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods is set to take effect. Trump and his Russian counterpart are set to meet in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday to discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump said that the primary objective of the talks was to broker a peace deal to end the conflict, which has been ongoing for over three years. He described the summit as a “feel-out meeting” to gauge the Russian leader’s willingness to pursue a ceasefire. He had previously suggested that a peace agreement could involve “some swapping of territories.