New York/Washington DC [US], August 18 (ANI): US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there are “implications” of sanctioning countries like China for continuing to buy oil from Russia.
His remarks on Sunday came against the backdrop of the US imposing 50 percent tariffs on India’s exports to the US, including a 25 percent penalty tariff for New Delhi’s trade with Moscow.
“If you put secondary sanctions on a country—let’s say you were to go after the oil sales of Russian oil to China. Well, China just refines that oil. That oil is then sold into the global marketplace, and anyone who’s buying that oil would be paying more for it or, if it doesn’t exist, would have to find an alternative source for it,” Rubio said in an interview with Fox News.
The US Secretary’s comments were in response to questions about whether plans to sanction Europe for buying Russian oil were being considered.
Rubio noted that a US Senate bill proposed 100 percent tariffs on China and India for buying Russian oil, and lawmakers “did hear from a number of European countries” expressing “some concern about what that could mean.”
Notably, US President Donald Trump recently extended the tariff deadline for China, which was set to end on August 12, by another 90 days. China is the largest buyer of Russian oil, followed by India.
Following the August 15 meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Washington DC, the US President told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he may consider the question of penalty tariffs for buying Russian oil in “two or three weeks or something.”
When asked specifically about delaying tariffs on China, Trump said, “Because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that now,” adding that the meeting with Putin had gone “very well.”
Meanwhile, Rubio, in an interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business Sunday Morning Futures, was asked whether Europe continues to buy Russian oil.
“Well, if you look at the oil that’s going to China and being refined, a lot of that is then being sold back into Europe. Europe’s also buying natural gas still. Now, there are countries trying to get—to wean themselves off of it, but there’s more Europe can do with regards to their own sanctions,” Rubio said. “They always talk about sanctions, and they’ve got a sanctions package coming out as well, but—an additional sanctions package supposedly coming out soon.”
The US Secretary of State also said that the US does not want to engage in a tit-for-tat with Europeans on sanctions. “I think they can play a very constructive role here in helping us get to that point. … and the President has kept them in the loop.”
In an interview with Fox News on Thursday ahead of his meeting with Putin, Trump claimed that the tariffs imposed on India for purchasing oil from Russia influenced Moscow’s decision to seek a meeting with Washington, as the country was losing its “second largest customer.”
Trump told Fox News, “I think everything has an impact,” and said that when he told India, “we’re going to charge you, because you’re dealing with Russia and oil purchases,” it “essentially took them out of buying oil from Russia.”
“I think everything has an impact. When I told India, which essentially took them out of buying oil from Russia, that we’re going to charge you, because you’re dealing with Russia on oil purchases, India was the second largest. And getting pretty close to China—China is the largest. And as you know, there was something in the works for that. And then they [Russia] called and they wanted to meet. Certainly, when you lose your second largest customer and you’re probably going to lose your first largest customer, I think that probably has a role. I think he [Putin] respects our country now,” Trump said.
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