U.S. Treasury Secretary Bensont:

The trade agreement between the EU and India is essentially "Russian oil - Indian refining - EU purchase", which means the EU continues to fund a war against itself.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bensont criticized the EU-India trade agreement, accusing the EU of indirectly purchasing Russian oil through India, which amounts to indirectly funding Russia, and called it "absolutely foolish".

The U.S. strongly opposes the India-EU free trade agreement, with Bensont stating that India is importing discounted Russian crude oil in large quantities.

It is processed into refined products in Indian refineries.

The EU purchases these refined products from India.

Final conclusion: The EU's actions are "blood transfusion" for the Ukraine-Russia war, i.e., "funding a war against itself."

Europe has taken a shortcut in energy, weakening the effectiveness of sanctions against Russia. Bensont emphasized that the U.S. has made far greater sacrifices to support Ukraine than Europe.

Concerns about the potential formation of a large trade group independent of the U.S. by India and the EU may impact its global economic leadership.

Meanwhile, India is seeking alternative export markets outside the U.S. to hedge against the risk of high U.S. tariffs; to safeguard its energy security and economic interests.

The EU aims to diversify its energy sources, reduce direct reliance on Russia; tap into India's vast market; and strengthen strategic autonomy under pressure from U.S. trade policies.

The core of this incident is the collision between U.S. unilateral sanctions and "long-arm jurisdiction," and the efforts of major economies to pursue strategic autonomy and pragmatic economic interests.

It brings several direct impacts:

The effectiveness of sanctions is weakened, as Russian crude oil, after being processed and converted through third parties, continues to flow into the Western market.

The transatlantic relationship is deepening its rift, as the U.S. and EU have publicly shown differences on how to enforce sanctions against Russia.

The global trade structure is reorganizing, as major economies such as India and the EU actively build trade channels that exclude or bypass the U.S. under the pressure of U.S. tariffs, which could lead to new divisions and combinations in the global economic blocks.

In summary, Bensont's strong criticism reflects not only energy and sanction issues, but also America's deep anxiety over the loosening of its dominant global trade and financial order. This incident is a key indicator for observing the great power games and the direction of globalization in the coming years.

Bensont's remarks reveal that the U.S. is strongly dissatisfied with the India-EU free trade agreement, signaling that there will be further confrontation among the U.S., India, and the EU. How it develops remains to be seen.

Original: toutiao.com/article/1855558528532492/

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