Washington (TDI): The Trump administration has sanctioned six Indian oil companies, among others, for doing trade with Iran in oil and petrochemical products.
These sanctions, which are part of United States’ larger strategy to impose maximum pressure on Iran via sanctions, come quickly after Trump said that he will punish India in tariffs because it buys military equipment from Russia and is also “Russia’s largest buyer of energy.”
Trump also specified that a 25% tariff rate is fixed for India, while not getting specific about the “penalty” he said India will pay for aligning with Russia and for having “the most strenuos and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers…”
The Indian companies that have been sanctioned yesterday include:
- Kanchan Polymers
- Alchemical Solutions
- Ramniklal S Gosalia and Company
- Jupiter Dye Chem
- Global Industrial Chemicals
- Persistent Petrochem
The companies reserve the right to make an appeal against the decision. A statement by the State Department read: “The Department of State is imposing sanctions on 20 entities engaged in Iranian petroleum, petroleum products, or petrochemical trade and is identifying 10 vessels as blocked property.”
As an outcome of the sanctions, all assets of these companies in the Unites States will be frozen, and no US companies will make any business dealings with them.
“Additionally, all entities and individuals that have ownership, either directly or indirectly, 50 per cent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked,” the statement further added, specifying the scope of the sanctions.
Other entities that have been affected are based in China, Indonesia, Turkiye, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 13 entities have been sanctioned for “trans-shipment, sale, and purchase of Iranian-origin petrochemicals” while 20 have come under fire for engaging in Iran’s crude oil business.
While sanctions on Indian oil companies and tariffs announcement for India might be seen separately, the developments indicate that Trump is now pressurizing India for entering into re-negotiating trade terms.
The Diplomatic Insight is a digital and print magazine focusing on diplomacy, defense, and development publishing since 2009.
