Former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton has strongly condemned President Donald Trump’s decision to put tariffs on India, calling it a “potentially huge mistake” that has led to the “worst outcome” for Washington. Bolton said that the measure, which was meant to punish countries that do business with Russia, has actually made relations with India worse and could even bring India closer to Russia and China by accident.
In an interview with CNN, Bolton said it was ironic that a tax meant to damage Russia could end up making India, Russia, and China work together more closely against the U.S. He stated, “Trump’s leniency toward China and harsh tariffs on India put decades of American work to pull India away from Russia and China at risk.”
The Trump administration had a short trade war with China, but since then it has been more tolerant with Beijing. The U.S., on the other hand, has put duties on Indian goods that are more than 50%, including a 25% secondary duty. The government said this was necessary to stop India from “funding Russia’s war in Ukraine” by buying Russian oil.
In an Op-Ed for The Hill, Bolton went into more detail about his worries, saying that Trump’s softer approach to Beijing might be regarded as giving up U.S. strategic interests in his “zeal for a deal” with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He said that it would be a big mistake to be more forgiving with Beijing than with New Delhi when it comes to trade and tariffs.
India is still buying Russian oil, even though there are tariffs on it. The Indian government says the imports are “unfair and unreasonable.” Russia has also spoken out, supporting India and saying that Washington is employing illegitimate trade pressure. This is only a week before Trump is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Bolton said that this meeting would offer Putin a chance to get his agenda forward and maybe even use the tariffs on India as a negotiating chip.