After imposing sky-high tariffs on India and threatening levies up to 100% for purchasing Russian oil, Donald Trump cut a deal with Putin to import Russian diesel to the US. It has only exposed Trump’s double standards and US hypocrisy.
If there were a Nobel Prize for hypocrisy, then US President Donald Trump would undoubtedly have been a major contender. After imposing sky-high tariffs on India and threatening more levies for purchasing Russian oil, Trump cut a deal with Putin to import Russian diesel to the US. It was the same Trump who wanted to end the Russia-Ukraine war by squeezing funds to Moscow and get himself a Nobel Peace Prize. The irony only exposes Trump’s double standards – America first, hypocrisy gaya tel lene (to hell with it).
The timing could hardly be more striking. The development comes weeks after Trump signed into law the Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, which gives him the power to impose tariffs up to 100% on countries like India and China that purchase Russian oil and gas. It has not only soured ties, but has had a bearing on the US-India trade deal as well, with an agreement likely not happening anytime soon.
WHY IS TRUMP PURCHASING RUSSIAN DIESEL?
Now, with the US itself set to purchase fuel from Russia – a move likely aimed at easing fuel prices ahead of the crucial midterm elections – it has raised a pertinent question. Will Trump sanction the US? If not, there is always another option to fall back on – TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out).
“Congress just passed a law giving Trump the power to impose tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil and gas. Can America tariff America?” quipped Scott Lincicome, vice president of Cato Institute, an American research organisation.
Geopolitical expert Evan A. Feigenbaum tweeted, “The message to India especially, after 14 months of threats related to purchases from Russia, is awful.”
The move to cut a deal with Putin for diesel, even as the Russia-Ukraine war rages on, is being seen as Trump’s last-ditch attempt at cooling fuel prices in America and pacifying public anger ahead of the midterm polls in November. The elections will determine who will control the US Congress.
Fuel prices in the US have gone through the roof due to the turmoil in the Middle East and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz. It has, in turn, driven inflation. Diesel is particularly important as it is the main supply chain fuel. US agricultural states rely heavily on it to operate farming machinery and heat homes.
Since the US-Iran war began this year, diesel prices have shot up by 70%. That’s a huge jump for US farmers. Thus, it was important for Trump to bring some relief from the sky-high prices at the pump. On Friday, the eccentric US President eventually dialled Putin.
Taking to his favourite Truth Social, Trump announced that Russia would release 3,00,000 tonnes of diesel immediately “to the American and global marketplace”. It will be followed by another 5,00,000 tonnes in November and another million after that.
“Diesel prices for Americans and, indeed, the world, will be coming down in record numbers, and fast. Lower prices for Americans, especially our great farmers, ranchers, and truckers, is my greatest priority,” Trump posted.
As part of the deal, the US is likely to suspend sanctions on Russian diesel exports until April 2027, the BBC reported. A perfect case of moving the goalposts to suit oneself.
The agreement is undoubtedly likely to spark a fresh collision course with Ukraine.
A furious Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called it Trump’s “gift” to Putin. Zelensky said it amounted to an “investment” in a war that would only get prolonged.
THREATEN INDIA, BUT AMERICA FIRST FOR TRUMP
The double standards by Trump become more stark when we see it against the backdrop of how he and his officials railed against India last year over its purchase of Russian energy.
Ties between India and the US hit a rough patch last year after Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, taking the total levy to 50%, citing New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil. The US claimed it was sustaining Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
It followed months of caustic and harsh remarks by Trump and his aides. Some of the most stinging remarks came from Trump’s closest aide Peter Navarro, who called India a “laundromat for the Kremlin” and labelled its crude imports from Russia as “blood money”.
However, India, which imports 90% of its energy requirements, never joined the war of words with Trump.
It maintained that its energy decisions were guided by national interest and the need to ensure affordable supplies for its huge population. The same logic that Trump has given now to purchase diesel from Russia.
The 25% punitive tariffs were removed by the US earlier this year after Delhi and Washington reached a trade deal framework.
Trump’s hypocrisy, however, came under sharp criticism from experts and US officials.
Feigenbaum, a former US official who served in the George W. Bush administration, called out the contradiction.
“So whether or not the President exercises a waiver or carveouts, the US retains the option to coerce, threaten, and penalise India under the Graham sanctions bill for buying from Russia, while the President now buys diesel from Russia for the US. And that hypocrisy, which will help to further tank US-India relations, comes on top of the sheer absurdity of the US itself seemingly having to rely on Russia?” Feigenbaum tweeted.
For now, Trump will be hoping that the Russia deal, despite the awkward hypocrisy questions it has raised, will persuade American voters that his promise of imminent economic relief is more than empty rhetoric.
