Washington, Aug. 14 -- The United States is doubling down on Donald Trump's tariff war, with Treasury Secretary Bessent warning of yet another round of secondary tariffs on India over its Russian oil purchases - a move that reeks of Trump's habit of shifting blame for his own diplomatic failures, media reports said.

Washington has accused New Delhi of "fuelling" Russia's war machine by buying discounted crude. This escalation comes as Trump heads to Alaska to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin, aiming to strike a deal to "stop" the Ukraine war.

The warning underscores worsening India-US ties and Trump's effort to turn India into a convenient scapegoat, despite New Delhi's repeated assertion of its right to secure its people's welfare and econ...