U.S. Treasury Secretary Directly Calls India a Scoundrel
India and the United States have been in constant conflict recently. The U.S. has repeatedly cited India's imports of Russian oil and raised the "tariff stick," while India has chosen to "stand firm."
On August 19 local time, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized India during an interview with American Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC), stating that India has profited by significantly increasing its purchases of Russian oil during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and that Washington considers this situation "unacceptable."
Bessent stated that Russian oil now accounts for 42% of India's total oil purchases, whereas before the Russia-Ukraine conflict, this proportion was less than 1%.
"India is profiting, they are reselling oil," Bessent said. "I call it 'Indian arbitrage,' buying Russian oil at low prices, processing it into refined oil, and then reselling it. This sudden occurrence during the war is unacceptable."
At the beginning of this month (August 6), U.S. President Trump announced additional tariffs of 25% on Indian goods, raising the total tariff level to 50%. This additional tariff measure will take effect on August 28 local time. Trump claimed that this is to "punish" India for continuing to purchase Russian oil. He also stated that he is not eager to engage in more negotiations with India.
In response, India protested that the U.S. actions were "unfair, unjust, and unreasonable," and pointed out that the U.S. still purchases billions of dollars worth of fertilizers and uranium from Russia annually.
In the interview, when asked why the U.S. government does not use similar tariff measures against China, Bessent said that the situation is "completely different," and there is no "arbitrage" activity like that of India.
Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1840944469844992/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.