US President Donald Trump’s decision to double tariffs on Indian goods—raising the rate to 50 per cent—threatened to spin the global order off its axis. Announced several weeks ago with little prior warning, the steep increase has had its obvious implications on world trade at large.
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump’s decision to sharply raise tariffs on India was aimed at indirectly pressuring Russia to end its war in Ukraine.
Leavitt told reporters that the decision was part of the administration’s broader strategy to target countries maintaining trade ties with Moscow. “The president has put tremendous public pressure to bring this war to a close. He’s taken actions, as you’ve seen, sanctions on India and other actions as well,” she said, explaining that the goal was to exert “secondary pressure” on the Kremlin.
“He has scoffed at the ideas of others that have been raised that we should wait another month before any meeting takes place. The president wants to move, and he wants to bring this war to an end as quickly as possible,” she was quoted as saying.
Just days earlier, Trump had hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, where the two signaled progress toward a possible trilateral dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Leavitt, Trump’s push for peace prompted European leaders to visit the White House within 48 hours of his meeting with Putin.
“The president wants to move and he wants to bring this war to an end as quickly as possible… With all of those European leaders leaving the White House, including the NATO Secretary General, they all agree that this is a great first step. And it’s a good thing that these two leaders are going to be sitting down together, and the president expects that to happen,” she said.
Leavitt confirmed that the US is currently engaged with both Kyiv and Moscow. “I can assure you that the United States government and the Trump administration are working with both Russia and Ukraine to make that bilateral happen as we speak,” she told media outlets.
When asked whether the war could have been avoided if Trump had remained in office, Leavitt reiterated the administration’s consistent position, stating that the president often maintained the war would not have started under his leadership—and that, according to her, Putin had confirmed this view.
Leavitt also reiterated Trump’s assertion that he played a key role in resolving the India-Pakistan conflict earlier this year—claiming he used trade as leverage to end hostilities, despite repeated denials by New Delhi.
“(For) India and Pakistan (conflict), he (Trump) used trade in a very powerful way as leverage to bring that conflict to an end,” she said. India, however, has repeatedly stated that no foreign power was involved in its decision to halt military operations, and has rejected third-party mediation.
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