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India Today
01-07-2025
- Business
- India Today
US bill proposes 500% tariff on India, China over Russia business ties
A proposed US Senate bill, backed by President Donald Trump, could impose 500% tariffs on countries, including India and China, that continue trading with Russia, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said in an interview with ABC to ABC News, Graham stated, "If you're buying products from Russia, and you're not helping Ukraine, then there's a 500% tariff on your products coming into the United States. India and China buy 70% of Putin's oil. They keep his war machine going."advertisementThe bill is reportedly expected to be introduced in August, marking a significant escalation in US efforts to isolate Russia economically. If enacted, the bill could severely impact India and China, the largest buyers of discounted Russian crude. For India, the move also risks tariffs on exports like pharmaceuticals, textiles, and IT is a major buyer of Russian oil, and imported EUR 49 billion worth of crude oil in the third year of the Ukraine invasion. Traditionally, India sourced its oil from the Middle East, but began importing a large volume of oil from Russia soon after the invasion of Ukraine in February development also comes on the heels of the much-expected India-US bilateral trade agreement. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on Tuesday that the trade deal is "very close", even as an Indian delegation continued discussions with US officials in Washington after trade talks hit a deadlock over key agricultural demands, sources told India proposed bill, co-sponsored by Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, reportedly has 84 co-sponsors and aims to pressure nations into halting Russian oil purchases, weakening "Moscow's war economy" and pushing it toward peace negotiations in told ABC News that Trump gave the green light during a golf game. "For the first time yesterday, the President told me I was playing golf with him. He says, 'It's time to move your bill.'"Originally proposed in March, the legislation faced delays after the White House signalled Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration had 'quietly pressured' the Senate to soften the bill by changing mandatory language ("shall") to discretionary ("may").Graham later reportedly proposed a carve-out for countries supporting Ukraine, likely to ease concerns among the US's European allies. "We are going to give President Trump a tool in the toolbox," Graham this bill becomes law, it may alter US's trade relationships with both China and India. Given that the US is India's primary export market, the policy could also trigger substantial economic repercussions and diplomatic tensions.- EndsTune InMust Watch
India Today
10-06-2025
- India Today
Over 500 stranded as Qantas flight makes emergency landing after passenger falls ill
A Qantas flight that took off from London for Singapore was forced to make an emergency landing in Azerbaijan's Baku after a passenger suffered a major cardiac episode mid-air. What followed was an unexpected overnight halt for around 500 passengers onboard QF2, the Qantas Airbus A380 flight from Heathrow to Singapore, found themselves waking up in Azerbaijan on Monday after a medical emergency forced the plane to eight hours into the 13-hour journey, a woman in her 60s became critically unwell. Dr Hamish Urquhart, an Australian doctor onboard, told ABC News that she suffered a 'major cardiac event' and required immediate attention. With intravenous access proving tricky while descending, the crew made a swift call. 'The lady was really quite unwell and needed intravenous access while we were trying to land, which was a bit challenging,' the doctor was quoted as saying by ABC to reports, the pilot executed a sharp 180-degree turn and headed straight for Baku, home to the closest airport capable of handling an A380. The aircraft touched down safely at Heydar Aliyev International Airport at around 7.56am local time. Upon landing, the woman was taken to a nearby hospital. Two other medical professionals assisted Dr Urquhart in stabilising her during the the crew managed the emergency calmly, the diversion had knock-on effects. The aircraft, originally scheduled for routine maintenance in Singapore, now needed an engineer flown in from London to carry out checks in Baku, The Independent passengers, mostly Australians en route Sydney, faced their own share of the diversion pushing crew members beyond their legal duty hours, Qantas arranged overnight accommodation for all onboard. But before they could even reach their hotels, most passengers had to wait over three hours just for their online visas to be approved.'It took five hours to exit the plane, then three hours to wait for a visa to come through, and finally a two-hour trip to a hotel with frequent stops as the guide called someone, evidently totally unsure where to take us,' a flight passenger told ABC News.A Qantas spokesperson confirmed the diversion, saying: 'We apologise to customers for the disruption and are working to get them on their way to Singapore as soon as possible.'The airline also reiterated that safety remained its top were expected to resume their journey via Singapore later in the day.
