‘PM Modi Is Not Happy With Me’: Trump On Steep Tariffs Slapped On India Over Russian Oil | World News

Washington, DC: US President Donald Trump admitted on Tuesday (January 6) that tariffs were straining his equation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said Modi was unhappy with the high taxes imposed on India for buying Russian oil, even though their personal relations were cordial.

Speaking at the House GOP Member Retreat, the US president talked about his conversations with Prime Minister Modi covering US defense sales, trade and tariff decisions. He said the relationship was friendly but the tariff issue linked to India’s energy purchases was clearly troubling New Delhi.

“… I have a very good relationship with Prime Minister Modi, but India is not happy with me because it pays high tariffs. But now they have reduced that very significantly by buying oil from Russia,” Trump said.

The tariffs, totaling 50 percent, were imposed after Washington flagged India’s large-scale imports of Russian crude oil. The US administration sees these purchases as indirect support to the Russian economy during the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Trump’s comments came a day after he warned that the US could further increase tariffs if India did not respond to American concerns about oil imports from Russia.

“Basically, they wanted to make me happy. Modi is a very nice guy; he’s a good guy. He knew I wasn’t happy and it was important to make me happy,” he told the meeting.

In his speech, Trump also defended the tariff policy, arguing that the measures brought financial gain to the United States.

The statements follow a series of public warnings from Trump to New Delhi over its ongoing energy trade with Moscow. In his previous statements, he directly linked the trade pressure to the Russia-Ukraine war, saying that customs duties could rise further if India “does not help the Russian oil issue.”

He has repeatedly accused India of empowering Moscow by buying discounted Russian crude oil and cited this as justification for high taxes on Indian goods. He also stated that tariff pressure was being used as a tool to influence India’s decisions, suggesting that it understood New Delhi’s discontent and was taking action to preserve broader trade ties.

Trump presented himself as a mediator in the Russia-Ukraine war by meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. So far, these discussions have not produced any significant progress.

India had previously rejected Trump’s claim that Prime Minister Modi had assured him that New Delhi would stop buying Russian oil. Indian officials have stated that no such meeting or commitment ever took place.