Washington/New Delhi: In a fresh development, the United States has now urged its Group of Seven (G7) partners to impose tariffs on India and China for buying Russian oil.
Washington has accused these two countries of being the key enablers of the Russian war effort.
Sources confirmed that US treasury secretary Scott Bessent and trade representative Jamieson Greer told G7 finance ministers on Friday that only a unified approach to cut off Russia’s energy revenues could bring an end to the war in Ukraine. They urged the G7 countries to match Washington’s tariff measures.
“Only with a unified effort that cuts off the revenues funding Putin’s war machine at the source will we be able to apply sufficient economic pressure to end the senseless killing,” Bessent and Greer said in a joint statement after the meeting.
Chaired by Canadian finance minister Franois-Philippe Champagne, the virtual talks focused on fresh sanctions, trade measures and the possible use of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine’s defence.
Canada, which currently holds the G7 presidency, emphasised that member states remained united in tightening pressure on Moscow while safeguarding Ukraine’s long-term economic recovery.
On Friday, a treasury spokesperson in Washington publicly demanded “meaningful tariffs” on Chinese and Indian goods, arguing that both nations’ continued purchases of discounted Russian crude were prolonging the conflict.
“Chinese and Indian purchases of Russian oil are funding Putin’s war machine,” the spokesperson said, stressing that such tariffs “will be rescinded the day the war ends”.
US president Donald Trump has already raised duties on Indian imports by an additional 25 per cent, bringing total punitive tariffs to 50 per cent in an effort to squeeze New Delhi’s oil trade with Moscow.
The move has strained US-India relations and complicated trade talks. Trump has, however, refrained from imposing fresh tariffs on Chinese imports, citing the need to preserve a delicate trade truce with Beijing.
In a Fox News interview earlier on Friday, Trump admitted that the tariff hike on India was “not an easy thing to do” given the risk of diplomatic fallout, but insisted it was necessary to cut into Moscow’s revenues.
“India was their biggest customer. I put a 50 per cent tariff on India because they’re buying oil from Russia. That’s not an easy thing to do. That’s a big deal, and it causes a rift with India,” he said.
Trump also expressed growing frustration with Russian president Vladimir Putin’s refusal to end the war, warning that “we’re going to have to come down very, very strong”.
He left open the possibility of broader sanctions targeting Russian banks and oil exports, but underlined that European allies would need to take part for the measures to be effective.
Meanwhile, Bessent is due in Madrid for another round of talks with Chinese vice president He Lifeng to discuss trade issues, Washington’s demand for TikTok’s US divestment, and anti-money laundering cooperation.