Overview

• US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that additional secondary tariffs or sanctions could be imposed on India if President Trump’s August 15 talks with President Putin in Alaska “don’t go well.”
• President Trump said the punitive duties effectively halted India’s Russian oil purchases and suggested they helped secure Putin’s agreement to meet.
• Exporters in leather, footwear and textiles report paused and cancelled US orders as a combined 50% duty disrupts shipments and freezes production.
• India’s Ministry of External Affairs has rejected claims of an oil import pause, calling US measures “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable” and preparing sector-specific relief.
• US officials have urged European allies to join secondary sanctions on Russia-linked trade, pushing for broader coordination against Moscow’s oil revenues.