NEW YORK/WASHINGTON:US President Donald Trump has said India is “very close” to China in terms of its purchases of Russian oil and will pay tariffs of 50 per cent as he indicated that “you are going to see so much secondary sanctions”.

“…. As you know, we put a 50-per cent tariff on India on oil. They are the second largest, they are very close to China in terms of the purchase of oil from Russia,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

Trump signed an executive order “Addressing Threats to the US by the Government of the Russian Federation” early on Wednesday, slapping an additional 25-per cent tariff on India for New Delhi’s purchases of oil from Russia. This took the total levies imposed on India to 50 per cent, among the highest that Washington has imposed on any country, after the Trump administration had announced 25-per cent tariffs on India last week that come into effect from August 7. The additional 25-per cent duty will come into effect after 21 days or August 27.