‘India being singled out’: US Congressman slams Donald Trump over tariffs policy

New York: A senior US lawmaker said President Donald Trump was “looking for excuses” to “impose excessive tariffs” on India for buying Russian oil, urging him to reverse the policy immediately.

“President Trump is looking for excuses to impose exorbitant tariffs on #India,” Congressman Brad Sherman said in a social media post on Wednesday.

Sherman, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Financial Services Committee, said in his post that Trump claimed that the tariffs imposed on India were for the import of Russian oil.

“However, Hungary imports 90 percent of its crude oil from Russia duty-free. China, Russia’s largest oil buyer, has not been affected by sanctions related to the purchase of Russian oil, although it has been hit for other reasons.

“India gets only 21% of its crude oil from Russia, but our ally is being excluded. The President must reverse this policy immediately,” Sherman said.

Earlier this month, the U.S. and India announced they had reached a framework for an interim agreement on trade with Trump, issuing an executive order lifting India’s 25 percent punitive tariffs on purchases of Russian oil.
The US president noted New Delhi’s commitment to stop directly or indirectly importing energy from Moscow and purchasing American energy products.

According to the trade agreement, Washington will reduce reciprocal customs duty to New Delhi from 25 percent to 18 percent.