US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's remarks come ahead of a high-level summit where India and the European Union are expected to formally announce the conclusion of negotiations on a comprehensive free trade agreement.
The Trump administration has announced a temporary authorisation for countries to purchase Russian oil stranded at sea, aiming to stabilise global energy markets amid rising oil prices and tensions with Iran.
When asked about Bessent's announcement allowing certain Russian oil sales to India and whether the US is considering any other moves, including tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), Trump said, "If there were some, I would do it just to take a little of the pressure off."
The United States has encouraged India to purchase Russian oil already at sea to mitigate supply shortages and price increases amid the West Asia conflict, according to Energy Secretary Chris Wright. This move is described as a short-term effort to stabilise the market without altering Washington's policy towards Russia.
The Congress has strongly criticised the US government's temporary waiver allowing India to purchase Russian oil, raising concerns about continued 'American blackmail' and its impact on India's energy policy.
The US has temporarily permitted India to accept Russian oil already on ships to ensure energy supplies amid the conflict with Iran. This short-term measure is not expected to significantly benefit Russia financially.
Trump administration will use "alternative legal authorities" to enforce tariffs on the countries, assuring that the tariff revenue will remain unchanged.
The US has granted India permission to buy Russian oil already in transit to ease global supply pressures amidst the West Asia conflict. This decision comes after India agreed to halt sanctioned Russian oil purchases and substitute them with US oil.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that long-term oil supplies are 'abundant' and there are no worries regarding that, but in the short term, there is a need to get oil on the market.
The Kremlin has announced it will not disclose data on crude oil exports to India, citing concerns about 'ill-wishers'. This decision follows reports of increased Russian oil supplies to India and China amid geopolitical tensions.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated a potential pathway to remove tariffs imposed on India for purchasing Russian oil, citing a significant decrease in such purchases. He also criticized Europe's approach and accused India of profiting from discounted Russian oil.
Amidst escalating tensions with Iran, the US has granted India a temporary 30-day waiver to continue purchasing Russian oil, aiming to stabilise global energy markets and encourage future US oil imports by India.
In the wake of the FTA between India and the European Union, the United States has described the Europeans as 'very disappointing', saying they were unwilling to join Washington, DC in putting tariffs on New Delhi for its purchases of Russian oil because of this trade deal.
'The entire US ecosystem built over decades at the bases in the Gulf region, especially the UAE, costing trillions of dollars have been decimated, dealing a mortal blow to the US Central Command's war capability,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The turning point came with the appointment of Sergio Gor as the US ambassador to India.
As in-person negotiations between India and the US kickstarted on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expected India to strike the first bilateral trade deal to avert President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs.
US President Donald Trump has said that India should not be "dumping" rice into the United States market and he will "take care" of it, while stressing that tariffs will solve the "problem" easily.
Glimpses of US President Donald Trump's arrival in Tokyo, Japan, for the second stop on his Asia tour, October 27, 2025.
The US is "pretty close" to reaching a "fair trade deal" with India, President Donald Trump has said, adding that he will lower the tariffs imposed on Indian goods at "some point".
President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order retroactively lowering tariffs on a range of agricultural imports, including beef, tomatoes, coffee and bananas, with the change taking effect from November 20, CNN reported.
United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that the secondary tariffs on India could go up if 'things don't go well' during talks between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
Describing the India-United States relationship as 'very complicated', US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday hoped that 'at the end of the day, we will come together.'
Trump claimed that he "got a call from Prime Minister Modi saying, 'we're done'. I said, 'you're done with what?'" Trump said and claimed Modi replied: "We're not going to go to war."
The US House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats stated that imposing tariffs on India will not deter Russian President Vladimir Putin or address Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The statement did not name any country. But the US has often blamed India and China for purchasing Russian oil even when there are no tariffs on Beijing for it.
Sullivan remarks come amid the rising friction between Washington and New Delhi due to the 50 percent tariffs imposed on Indian goods, which include a 25 percent penalty for buying Russian oil.
The Indian nationals sanctioned include Varun Pula, who owns Marshall Islands-based Bertha Shipping Inc., which owns and operates Comoros-flagged vessel PAMIR.
There were apprehensions that additional secondary tariffs would have hit India in case the US decided to enforce them.
US President Donald Trump received a mixed reception of cheers and boos at the US Open final at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York on Sunday.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday expressed hope that India will conclude the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US by the fall or November this year. He said that "a little bit" of geopolitical issues overtook the trade matters in the negotiations for the pact between the two countries.
The Trump administration has told the US Supreme Court that it imposed tariffs against India for purchasing Russian energy products as part of its strategy to address the war in Ukraine.
The US Department of the Treasury on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, in an effort to pressure the Kremlin to end its war in Ukraine.
Trump's post on Truth Social comes a day after the US asked G7 countries to impose tariffs on countries purchasing oil from Russia.
Communication channels between India and the US are open to resolve the ongoing tariff issues, and the glitch in trade ties is only temporary, given the long-term relationship between the two nations, government sources said on Wednesday. The US' 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports to America came into effect from August 27, barring a few sectors.
As one of the federal appeal courts in the United States ruled that most of tariffs imposed by Trump administration are not accordance with the laws, US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) affirmed that all tariffs imposed on the countries will remain in effect, calling a recent ruling by a 'highly Partisan Appeals Court' incorrect.
'Trump does have a master plan in mind to put pressure on India with the additional tariff of 25 per cent to get Modi to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to freeze the Ukraine war.' 'It has not worked so far. By end-September only we'll know for sure the future trajectory of India's oil purchases from Russia,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday once again claimed that United States President Donald Trump has ended the military conflict between India and Pakistan.
The Swiss government would not object to tennis legend Roger Federer or FIFA President Gianni Infantino intervening to reduce the country's tariff burden after the US slapped a 39 percent import duty on its goods, President Karin Keller-Sutter said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar defends India's purchase of Russian oil, stating it is not the largest purchaser and that the US had previously supported such actions to stabilize energy markets. He also addresses concerns about tariffs and trade relations with the US.
Trump stated that Russia will face "severe economic consequences" if Putin doesn't show interest in de-escalating the Ukraine conflict.
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