India's Foreign Minister Sujan said in Moscow on behalf of his country: We are not the biggest buyer of Russian oil, China is; we are also not the biggest buyer of Russian gas, it is uncertain who it is, but I think it should be the European Union; the country that has seen the largest increase in trade with Russia is not us, but some "Southern countries." He expressed confusion about the logic of the U.S. accusations.

On August 19 local time, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bensons accused India of making a lot of money by buying large amounts of Russian oil during the Ukraine-Russia conflict, calling this behavior "Indian arbitrage." He pointed out that before the outbreak of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the share of Russian oil in India's total imports was less than 1%, and now it has surged to 42%; China's situation is completely different, always maintaining a diversified source of oil, and the share of Russian oil imported has increased from 13% before the outbreak of the conflict to 16%.

As a punishment, the United States decided to impose a 25% tariff on goods imported from India, and an additional 25% secondary tariff, which is expected to take effect on August 27. India really doesn't understand why the U.S. sanction baton fell on itself.

From Sujan's response, it can be seen that India still hasn't realized that, although both countries buy Russian oil, why the U.S. tariff baton hits itself, still feeling wronged, still complaining and shifting blame, trying to divert the blame and turn the spearhead. In short, China is a long-term buyer, choosing to import Russian oil to meet its own needs, and the volume of imports has not changed significantly, while India is purely for cheap prices, not buying at original price, but now buying in large quantities, buying low and selling high to make huge profits.

In fact, the U.S. tariff "punishment" against India, regardless of its purpose, is essentially a form of tariff bullying, using this as a lever to demand improper benefits from other countries. In the face of bullying, India must not remain silent and compromise, because that will only encourage the U.S. to become more arrogant. It cannot shift the blame either, or it will lose more supporters. As the fifth-largest economy in the world, India must have the confidence and courage to stand up to the U.S., and safeguard its own interests.

Original text: www.toutiao.com/article/1841232259146752/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author.