Washington, Oct 19 (IANS) The United States sought European support for secondary tariffs on India and China over their purchases of Russian energy, but its allies refused, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday, defending Washington’s decision to suspend enforcement of new sanctions against countries trading with Moscow.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright separately identified India and China as the two principal countries that could face penalties under the new sanctions law, but said President Donald Trump had retained the authority to impose them later.
The remarks by two senior Cabinet officials offered fresh details about the administration’s approach to Russian energy trade and its efforts to coordinate economic pressure on Moscow with European governments.
Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press, Bessent said European countries continued to purchase substantial quantities of Russian energy while declining to join Washington’s proposed action against India and China.
“So we have asked, in the spring, I asked our European allies to join us in putting secondary tariffs on China, on India. They refused,” Bessent said.
“So why should the U.S. bear the burden?” he asked.
Bessent accused European governments of continuing to finance Russia through energy purchases. He cited shipments from the Yamal facility, saying 140 cargoes had departed during the first six months of the year, with 136 going to European destinations.
He said the shipments, worth more than $8 billion, had gone to countries including Belgium, Spain, France and the Netherlands.
The Treasury Secretary argued that the administration was entitled to reassess its sanctions strategy rather than proceed without comparable action from its allies.
He said the legislation provided a 60-day period to examine the situation and insisted that existing sanctions against major Russian energy companies remained in force.
“No sanctions were lifted on Friday. No sanctions were lifted,” Bessent said.
He distinguished the suspension of new penalties from the separate decision to ease restrictions on Russian diesel exports.
Wright, appearing on CNN’s State of the Union, made the distinction between sanctions directly targeting Russia and penalties against countries continuing to trade with Moscow.
“The Lindsey Graham Act is not about economic sanctions on Russia. It’s about economic sanctions on countries that trade with Russia,” Wright said.
“There’s two of those that are meaningful, China and India,” he added.
Wright said Washington was discussing the Ukraine conflict and long-term trade relations with Beijing.
“He didn’t end the Lindsey Graham sanctions. He’s just suspended the enforcement of them for now,” Wright said.
The Energy Secretary also defended the diesel arrangement, arguing that Russia could benefit only if it reduced military operations sufficiently to make additional fuel available for export.
He said existing restrictions on Russian crude oil remained intact and that the diesel measure was intended to encourage progress towards ending the conflict.
Bessent defended the administration’s broader sanctions record. He also rejected suggestions that Washington was abandoning Ukraine, pointing to continued intelligence support and American weapons supplied through NATO partners.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several Republican lawmakers argued that easing economic pressure could benefit Moscow without securing an end to hostilities.
–IANS
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