India hits back at Trump’s threat

India's ruling party and main opposition yesterday condemned a threat by US President Donald Trump to raise tariffs on goods from India over its Russian oil purchases, in a show of political unity as a trade rift deepens with Washington.

Trump had already in July announced 25 percent tariffs on Indian imports, and US officials have cited a range of geopolitical issues standing in the way of a US-India trade accord.

Manish Tewari, a member of parliament and leader of the opposition Congress, said Trump's "disparaging remarks hurt the dignity and self-respect of Indians".

"The time has come to call out this constant bullying and hectoring," he added.

BJP Vice President Baijayant Jay Panda quoted Henry Kissinger - the most powerful US diplomat of the Cold War era - in a post on X: "To be an enemy of America can be dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal."

India's foreign ministry said the country was being unfairly singled out over its purchases of Russian oil, and highlighted continued trade between Moscow and both the United States and the European Union, despite the war in Ukraine.

"It is revealing that the very nations criticising India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia," it said in a statement issued late on Monday. "It is unjustified to single out India," the ministry said.

It said the EU conducted 67.5 billion euros ($78.02 billion) in trade with Russia in 2024, including record imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) reaching 16.5 million tonnes.

The United States, the statement said, continues to import Russian uranium hexafluoride for use in its nuclear power industry, palladium, fertilisers and chemicals. It did not give a source for the export information.

The US embassy and the EU's delegation in New Delhi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Both the United States and EU have sharply scaled back their trade ties with Russia since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In 2021, Russia was the EU's fifth-largest trading partner, with goods exchange worth 258 billion euros, according to the EU executive European Commission.