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‘Selective bullying’: US punishes India, but its own trade with Russia grows 20% under Trump
Even as Washington slaps tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, US trade with Moscow has surged 20 percent since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
The contradiction was spotlighted at the August 15 Alaska summit, where Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for the first time in a historic bid to resolve the Ukraine war. While no ceasefire emerged, Putin announced a rebound in bilateral commerce.
“Incidentally, when the new administration came to power, bilateral trade started to grow. It’s still very symbolic. Still, we have a growth of 20%. As I’ve said, we have a lot of dimensions for joint work. It is clear that the U.S. and Russian investment and business cooperation has tremendous potential,” Putin said. He added that opportunities existed in “trade, digital, high tech, and in space exploration.”
Trump described the talks as “extremely productive” but insisted “there’s no deal until there’s a deal.” He said “many points” were agreed upon but “a couple of big ones” remained unresolved, promising to brief NATO allies and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Putin, however, framed the outcome as a “new stage” in relations, with trade serving as a foundation for “business-like and pragmatic ties.”
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