00:00U.S. President signed into law a Russia sanctions bill that gives his administration new powers to impose tariffs of
00:07up to 100% on countries buying Russian oil and gas, potentially putting India and China in the crosshairs.
00:13India and China are among the biggest buyers of Russian oil, but the legislation does not name specific countries or
00:20clearly explain how the top five lists will be calculated.
00:23Here's the report.
00:28A bill targeting Russia, but with eyes on India and China without naming them.
00:35Trump has signed into law a Russia sanctions bill that gives his administration new powers.
00:45Under the new law, the Trump administration can, with his nod, impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries
00:54buying Russian oil and gas, potentially putting India and China in crosshairs.
01:01The legislation requires Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% within 30 days on goods imported into the
01:09U.S. from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas.
01:17India and China are among the biggest buyers of Russian oil, but the legislation does not name specific countries or
01:25clearly explain how the top five list will be calculated.
01:29Trump in the past has blamed India for imposing high tariffs on U.S. goods.
01:36Prime Minister Modi is a friend of mine, but they don't do very much business in terms of business with
01:42us.
01:42They sell a lot to us, but we don't buy from them.
01:45You know why?
01:46Because the tariff is so high.
01:47They have one of the highest tariffs in the world.
01:49Now they're willing to cut it very substantially, but we'll see what happens.
01:52We're talking to India now.
01:54We'll see what happens.
01:54It doesn't matter too much whether we have a deal or whether we charge them a certain tariff.
02:00But India stands firm, asserting national interest is paramount.
02:05Ministry of External Affairs had said that India remains committed to ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion people
02:13through diversified sourcing.
02:15New Delhi has flagged the potential impact on bilateral ties and global energy markets.
02:20The government says it will take all necessary measures to protect India's trade and economic interests.
02:50If we have a stable, economical, energy source, we'll get energy from there.
02:56Earlier, Prime Minister Modi had made it clear that the interests of Indians are supreme, no matter what.
03:25India has also defended buying Russian oil.
03:31We didn't buy a significant amount of Russian oil till 2022.
03:36Circumstances compelled us to get into that market.
03:39And I must say, Russians have been steady suppliers because they put the cargos out there and you go out
03:45there and buy oil,
03:46whichever is the most reasonable and available oil.
03:50With the midterm pulls around the corner, Trump is pulling out all the stops to avoid weakening his position.
03:58And that too, at a time when end to Iran war seems a distant reality.
04:05And for India, it is still wait and watch game.
04:10Bureau Report, India Today.
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