US threatens to increase tariffs on India if Trump-Putin do not reach agreement

A meeting going to be held between US President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15 2025. Meanwhile the US President is trying to put pressure on Russia for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

On the one hand, Trump has said that if Russia does not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine, it will have to face "very serious consequences". At the same time, US Finance Minister Scott Besant has warned that the US can increase additional tariffs on India.

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India is Russia's second largest oil buyer

Trump argues that imposing tariffs on India will affect the Russian economy and put pressure on Putin. Meanwhile the US Finance Minister said that the decision to increase additional tariffs on India will depend on the outcome of the meeting between US President and Russian President Putin on Friday.

"We have already imposed secondary tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. And I think if things don't go well, sanctions or secondary tariffs may increase," Besant said in an interview to Bloomberg TV on Wednesday.

Earlier Donald Trump imposed an additional 25 percent tariff on India in addition to the already imposed 25 percent tariff.

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Trump told reporters at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC on Wednesday that even after meeting Putin face-to-face, he may not be able to convince him to stop killing civilians in Ukraine.

Earlier, Trump held a virtual meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders.

It is being discussed that in this meeting, Trump told the European leaders that the main agenda of the meeting with Putin is to bring about a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

Summary

The meeting was attended by US Vice President JD Vance, the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Finland and Poland, as well as European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and NATO chief Mark Rutte.