‘We’ll crush your economy’: US Senator warns India, China and Brazil over Russian oil imports
US Senator Lindsey Graham has warned that President Donald Trump will impose steep tariffs on countries that continue to import oil from Russia, specifically naming India, China and Brazil. Graham made the remarks during a recent interview on Fox News.
“Trump is going to impose tariffs on people that buy Russian oil – China, India, and Brazil,” Graham said. These three countries account for around 80 per cent of Russia’s crude exports, which Graham argued is helping to fund the war in Ukraine.
He said Trump plans to impose a 100 per cent tariff on oil-related imports from those nations as a way to cut off financial support to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “President Trump’s going to put a 100 per cent tariff on all those countries, punishing them for helping Putin,” he added.
Addressing Putin directly, Graham said, “You have played President Trump at your own peril. You made a major league mistake, and your economy is going to continue to be crushed. We’re flowing weapons to Ukraine, so Ukraine will have the weapons to fight Putin back.”
He said Putin is trying to recreate the former Soviet Union by invading countries that do not belong to him. “Putin wants to take countries that are not his. In the mid-90s, Ukraine gave up 1,700 nuclear weapons with a promise that their sovereignty would be respected by Russia. Putin broke that promise,” Graham said.
“He’s not going to stop until somebody makes him stop,” he added.
Graham also compared Trump’s leadership style to that of a top athlete. “Donald Trump is the Scotty Scheffler of American politics and foreign diplomacy, and he’s about to put a whooping on your ass,” he said.
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He said the tariffs would be a direct warning to other nations as well. “Here’s what I would tell China, India and Brazil: If you keep buying cheap Russian oil to allow this war to continue, we’re going to tear the hell out of you and we’re going to crush your economy, because what you’re doing is blood money.”
“You’re buying cheap Russian oil at the expense of the world, and President Trump is tired of this game,” Graham said. He added that while Putin may be able to withstand sanctions and show disregard for Russian soldiers, other countries dependent on trade with the United States will feel the cost.
“China, India, and Brazil they’re about to face a choice between the American economy or helping Putin. And I think they’re going to come pick the American economy,” he said.