Ex-diplomat KP Fabian said the US cannot levy tariffs on India for buying Russian fuel when Washington itself aims to buy Russian diesel. He called the tariff threat Trump's way to get a favourable trade deal ahead of the US midterm elections.
'US can't sanction India when it's buying Russian diesel': Ex-diplomat
After US President Donald Trump waived sanctions related to Russian fuel sales under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, former diplomat KP Fabian on Saturday said that the US could not levy tariffs on other countries when Washington itself aims to buy Russian diesel. Speaking to ANI, Fabian said that the pretext of tariffs on India was Trump’s way to get a favourable trade deal.
He said, “Contrary to the Lindsey Graham Act, President Trump did not dare to mention it to Xi Jinping because China is a top buyer, 50 per cent of Russia’s exports. India comes next at 37 per cent. He dare not tell Xi Jinping because he wants a G2. Trump himself spoke to Putin to buy diesel. If America itself is buying, either it should sanction itself, which is ridiculous.”
“It cannot sanction India; nothing to do with India’s strategic autonomy and nothing to do with Trump’s plan to later threaten India. Certain tariffs were imposed, and the court in the United States said that Trump had no business. Forces child labour, from which India’s name was removed, and overcapacity are pretexts invented by Trump while negotiating a trade deal,” the former diplomat added.
Trump waives sanctions amid US diesel crunch
Earlier today, Trump paused the law, which would have imposed tariffs of up to 100 per cent on goods brought into the US from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas, which include India and China. The move comes amid a diesel deal with Russia in the backdrop of soaring diesel prices in the United States ahead of the November midterm elections.
Invokes Section 115 of Graham Act
Trump invoked Section 115 of the Graham Act, which authorises the President to waive the application of any sanctions provision with respect to a foreign person, any restriction with respect to a person, and any duty under the law.
"I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver is in the national interests of the United States and a report explaining the basis for the certification, consistent with section 115(b) of the Graham Act," Trump said in the order.
He waived the application of any duties provided for in sections 112 and 113 of the Act, which allowed Trump to increase the rate of duty on all goods imported into the United States from Russia to a rate of up to 500 per cent ad valorem (relative to the value). It also allowed a duty up to 100 per cent ad valorem from the five largest importers of Russian-origin crude oil or natural gas.
Trump had earlier announced a diesel deal with Russia, under which he said Moscow would immediately supply more than 3,00,000 tonnes of diesel fuel, followed by another 5,00,000 tonnes during November and 1 million tonnes immediately thereafter.
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