Kotak Mahindra Bank Chairman Uday Kotak said on Thursday his 2024 warning about how the Donald Trump-led United States would exert its global dominance was “now playing out as expected” as Washington prepared to impose drastic punitive tariffs on countries buying Russian oil.
“My tweet about absolute US power, November 2024. Going as planned,” Kotak wrote on X (formerly Twitter), reposting his previous message.
In his November article, Kotak had argued that the United States, as the world’s preeminent military, financial and technological power, would increasingly benefit from its dominance under the Trump administration.
“The United States is the absolute power on planet Earth: military, financial, technological. Under Donald Trump, they will exercise their domination. Every country must recognize this and prepare for it. In the financial, geopolitical, commercial and elsewhere areas. Is the American budget deficit a chink in its armor?” he had written.
Customs duties of 500% on buyers of Russian oil
Kotak’s remarks come amid growing pressure from Washington on major economies, including India, following the Trump administration’s support for a bill that could impose tariffs of up to 500% on countries importing oil and energy products of Russian origin.
The proposed “Russia Sanctions Act of 2025” would take effect if Russia or entities acting on its behalf refuse to negotiate peace with Ukraine, violate a peace agreement, invade Ukraine again, or attempt to undermine the Ukrainian government.
A key provision states that “the President shall increase the rate of tariffs on all goods and services imported into the United States from countries that knowingly engage in the exchange of uranium and petroleum products of Russian origin to at least 500 percent of the value of those goods and services.”
India under pressure
India faced a double whammy on January 8 after President Trump both supported the Russia sanctions bill and announced US withdrawal from the India-led International Solar Alliance (ISA), part of a broader exit by several international organizations.
These developments took place just before the arrival of the US ambassador-designate, Sergio Gor, in New Delhi this weekend. Gor, who will officially take office on January 12 as ambassador to India and “special envoy for South and Central Asia”, had said during his Senate confirmation hearings in September that ending Indian imports of Russian oil was a “top priority” for the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, in Paris, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said he was “satisfied” with India’s recent reduction in Russian oil imports, during a joint press conference with Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and the foreign ministers of France and Germany.
The Russian sanctions project is gaining momentum
In Washington, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of President Trump, said on January 7 that the president had “greenlighted” Russia sanctions legislation, with a possible vote in Congress “as early as next week.”
“This bill would give President Trump enormous leverage against countries like China, India and Brazil to stop buying the cheap Russian oil that is financing Putin’s bloodbath against Ukraine,” Graham said.
The bipartisan bill, introduced in April, has already secured 84 co-sponsors among the 100-member Senate and 151 co-sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives, indicating it will pass smoothly once put to a vote. Trump described it as “great legislation,” while Graham said the law would give the president discretion to set tariff levels beyond the existing 25% tariff penalties on Indian goods.
