India, Jan. 26 -- Just as India and the European Union (EU) finalised their Free Trade Agreement in a big move to counter Donald Trump's tariff-driven trade policy, the US has doubled down on allegations that India's oil trade with Russia finances the war in EU-backed Ukraine.

"We have put 25 per cent tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. Guess what happened last week? The Europeans signed a trade deal with India," US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview on Sunday, US local time. The India-EU deal, it must be noted, has not yet been signed but was declared as "finalised for legal scrubbing of the text" in New Delhi.

In all, the Trump administration has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India, including 25 per cent over ...