New York/Washington: President Donald Trump has said that he doesn’t know anything about the US imports of Russian uranium, fertilisers, and chemicals.
Trump made the comments on Tuesday while responding to a question on India’s statement on American imports of these commodities.
“I don’t know anything about it. I’d have to check, but we’ll get back to you on that,” Trump said, adding that he will soon decide on tariffs to be imposed on nations buying Russian energy.
His remarks come even as American imports from Russia continue to quietly rise. Between January and May this year, US imports jumped 23 per cent year-on-year to $2.1 billion, driven by sharp increases in palladium (up 37 per cent), uranium (28 per cent), and fertilisers (21 per cent).
While this marks a partial rebound, overall US merchandise imports from Russia had fallen to $3 billion in 2024, down 90 per cent from 2021, the year before the Ukraine war began.
Trump earlier ramped up pressure on India, warning of a sharp increase in tariffs within “24 hours” over its continued oil purchases from Russia.
“India hasn’t been a fair trading partner. They do a lot of business with us, but we don’t get the same in return,” he said in an interview with CNBC. “We had settled on a 25 percent tariff, but I’m going to raise it significantly because they’re buying Russian oil and fueling the war machine,” he added.
India hit back strongly on Monday, calling the threat “unjustified and unreasonable” and asserting it would take all necessary steps to safeguard its national interests and economic security.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal pointed out that India has been repeatedly targeted by the US and EU over its energy imports from Russia, even as many Western nations continue trade with Moscow.
“In this background, the targeting of India is unjustified. Like any major economy, India will act to protect its interests,” he said.
