US President Donald Trump on Tuesday appeared to backtrack on his earlier claims of imposing steep tariffs on countries importing Russian energy, stating he “never said a percentage” and would “see what happens over the next fairly short period of time.”
Speaking during a press conference at the White House—originally convened to discuss the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics—Trump was questioned about reports that he planned a 100% tariff on countries buying Russian oil, including India.
“I never said a percentage, but we’ll be doing quite a bit of that. We’ll see what happens over the next fairly short period of time… We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow. We’re going to see what happens,” Trump said.
Former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley openly criticized Trump’s approach, accusing him of being lenient toward China—the top buyer of Russian and Iranian oil—while unfairly pressuring India, a key US ally.
“India should not be buying oil from Russia. But China, an adversary and the number one buyer of Russian and Iranian oil, got a 90-day tariff pause. Don’t give China a pass and burn a relationship with a strong ally like India,” Haley wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Haley was Trump’s last major Republican challenger during the presidential primaries and remains an influential conservative voice on foreign policy.
Trump’s latest comments came a day after he threatened to “substantially raise” tariffs on India over its continued purchase of Russian oil, accusing New Delhi of profiting by reselling the oil on global markets.
“They’re fueling the war machine, and if they’re going to do that, then I’m not going to be happy,” Trump told CNBC in a separate interview, according to Reuters. He reiterated that India’s high tariffs were a key sticking point, though no revised rate was provided.
His earlier post on Truth Social sparked sharp reactions in India and was followed by further clarification that the tariff increase could happen “within the next 24 hours.”
“India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian oil, they are then, for much of the oil purchased, selling it on the open market for big profits… I will be substantially raising the tariff paid by India to the USA,” Trump had said in the post.
India has defended its energy trade with Russia as a necessity driven by market conditions and national energy security, especially amid supply shortages caused by the ongoing Ukraine conflict. Indian officials have also pointed out that Western nations, including the US and EU, continue to trade with Russia in critical sectors such as nuclear fuel and energy technologies.
With Trump hinting at further tariff decisions pending high-level meetings, the diplomatic friction between Washington and New Delhi over energy imports appears far from over.
