US: According to Senator Lindsey Graham, the Indian ambassador requested tariff reduction due to lower imports of Russian oil
US: On Sunday (local time), US Senator Lindsey Graham said that Vinay Mohan Kwatra, the Indian ambassador to the US, told him last month that India was purchasing less Russian oil and requested him to advise US President Donald Trump to remove the 25% tax.
Speaking to Air Force reporters “I was at the Indian Ambassador’s house a month ago, and all he wanted to talk about was how India is buying less Russian oil,” Graham added, referring to Trump. Additionally, he requested that I urge the President to lower the 25% duty.
In response to India’s ongoing purchases of Russian oil, US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose more taxes.PM Modi is an excellent individual. He is a decent man. He was aware of my unhappiness. Making me happy was vital. We can immediately increase duties on them, and they do trade,” Trump said.
While New Delhi has justified its oil imports as necessary for domestic energy security, Trump’s latest warning to India comes as Washington continues to scrutinize India’s energy trade with Russia.
Meanwhile, the US attack on Venezuela has once again elevated the oil question to the top of the geopolitical agenda. With more than 303 billion barrels of oil reserves, Venezuela has the greatest proven oil reserves in the world. However, because to US sanctions and underinvestment, output has decreased to 1 million barrels per day. According to OPEC statistics, Venezuela has the greatest proven oil reserves in the world (estimated at over 300 billion barrels), which account for over 17% of the world’s total oil supply.
The remarks also follow weeks after Trump and Prime Minister Modi spoke over the phone, in which both leaders emphasized the need of keeping up the pace in bilateral trade relations in spite of lingering difficulties over tariffs.
A new round of talks between Indian and US officials to end the long-running trade stalemate was launched at the same time as the call.Trump had threatened to levy fresh taxes on Indian rice imports only days before to the meeting with Modi.
The warning came after a US farmer representative complained about dumping by China, Thailand, and India at a White House roundtable.