US-EU secondary tariffs on Russian oil buyers to bring Putin to peace table, claims Treasury Secretary Bessent

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has called for putting secondary tariffs on countries that purchase oil from Russia, hinting towards India and China.

In his recent interview with NBC, Bessent said that the U.S. and the European Union (EU) should together intensify economic pressure on the Russian Federation, arguing that stronger sanctions are expected to force President Vladimir Putin to sit for peace talks with Ukraine.

“If the U.S. and the EU can come in, do more sanctions and secondary tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil, the Russian economy will be in full collapse, and that will bring President Putin to the table,” Bessent said.

The US has already imposed steep tariffs on India and China for their Russian crude purchases with 50% tariffs on India, effective August 27, and 145% on China, though tariffs on Chinese goods have been suspended for now.

Bessent emphasised that the Russia-Ukraine war is now a test on which country stands till the end. He argued that a decisive joint action of the U.S. and other European nations will fracture Russia’s economic durability. He added that the Trump administration was ready to escalate pressure further.

“We are prepared to increase pressure on Russia, but we need our European partners to follow us. We are in a race now between how long can the Ukrainian military hold up versus how long can the Russian economy hold up,” he said.

Bessent has previously also criticised India and China for continuing to buy Russian oil and enabling Moscow’s war effort.

In a now deleted post, U.S. President Donald Trump had also posted a picture of Russian president Putin with PM Narendra Modi and PRC president Xi Jinping at the SCO Summit 2025. He captioned the picture saying, “looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together! President Donald J. Trump.”

This signals Washington’s growing frustration on the increasing proximity among Russia, India and China. However, eventually, Trump had retracted his remarks and called PM Modi ‘a great friend,’ saying, “there is nothing to worry about.”

To which, PM Modi responded in a post on X saying, “deeply appreciate and fully reciprocate President Trump's sentiments and positive assessment of our ties. India and the U.S. have a very positive and forward-looking Comprehensive and Global Strategic Partnership.”

India has called out the West of double standards, pointing out that several European countries have been importing from Russia without facing similar measures.