Trump Denies His Own Remark Threatening 100% Tariffs On Countries Buying Russian Oil: 'Never Said A Percentage, But...'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) United States President Donald Trump on August 5 denied his own earlier statement of imposing 100% tariffs on countries procuring Russian oil , stating "he never said a percentage" and would see what unfolds over the next period after holding a meeting with Russia.

"I never said a percentage, but we'll be doing quite a bit of that. We'll see what happens over the next fairly short period of time... We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow. We're going to see what happens..." Trump stated during a press conference at the White House, which was mainly organised to talk about the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

What did Trump say last month?

In July, Trump said 100% secondary tariffs would be imposed on countries that procure Russian exports unless Moscow decides for a major peace deal with Ukraine in 50 days, a deadline that would end in early September.

Meanwhile, former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has cautioned US President Donald Trump against burning“a relationship with a strong ally like India” after him saying that the US will substantially hike tariffs over oil imports from Russia. She added he had given“China a pass”.

Also Read | Why Trump's oil deal with Pakistan has experts stumped

Haley pointed out that China is an opponent of the United States and“number one buyer of Russian and Iranian oil” and even then it has been provided with a 90-day tariff halt by the Trump government.

"India should not be buying oil from Russia. But China, an adversary and the number one buyer of Russian and Iranian oil, got a 90-day tariff pause. Don't give China a pass and burn a relationship with a strong ally like India," she mentioned.

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Haley was the final major contender to exit the Republican presidential primary race last year.

Trump stated he would raise the tariff charged on imports from India from the existing rate of 25% "very substantially" over the next 24 hours due to New Delhi's non-stop purchases of Russian oil, Reuters reported.

"They're fueling the war machine, and if they're going to do that, then I'm not going to be happy," Trump informed CNBC in an interview, Reuters report noted.

(With inputs from ANI)

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