India issues BIG statement on proposed US bill to impose 500% tariffs: 'Our position is...'

India on Friday reacted to reports that the United States was considering levying a whopping 500 percent import tariffs on India and other countries buying Russian oil. A US senator recently said that President Donald Trump had backed a bill allowing the steep tariffs on nations which continue to engage in business with Moscow. Such countries include India, China, and Brazil, among others. In a statement issued on Friday (January 9), India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it was closely following developments around the proposed US bill.

What did the MEA say?

The MEA said in its statement: "We are aware of the proposed bill. We are closely following the developments." The union ministry added: "Our position on the larger question of energy sourcing is well known. In this endeavor, we are guided by the evolving dynamics of the global market and by the imperative to secure affordable energy from diverse sources to meet the energy security needs of our 1.4 billion people." The comment comes after Trump reportedly approved a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill that could let the US government heavily penalise India and other countries for continuing to buy Russian energy.

What is the aim of the bill?

The bill grabbed headlines after Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said that Trump had conveyed his support for the proposal during a meeting at the US White House. The bill, if cleared, would allow the US president to impose tariffs up to 500 percent on countries dealing in Russian oil or other energy sources. Trump and his officials have time and again accused India of fueling Russian leader Vladimir Putin's "war machine" in Ukraine. The proposed bill is aimed at economically pressure Moscow at a time when the US is holding negotiations to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, which has been raging for nearly four years now.