India has labelled Donald Trump’s warning of “significantly” increased tariffs on its Russian oil purchase as “unjustified and unreasonable. The US president, in a posting on Truth Social, threatened to increase levies, stating India “doesn’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine”.
India is now one of the biggest Russian oil buyers. It emerged as a key export destination for Moscow following a reduction in trade from several European nations following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Trump did not define the new tariff, but it followed days after he announced a substantial 25% tariff on India.
In a statement, India’s foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the US had invited India to import Russian gas at the onset of the conflict, “for enhancing global energy markets’ stability”. He explained that India “started importing from Russia as traditional supplies were diverted to Europe following the outbreak of the conflict”.
India also condemned the US – its biggest trading partner – for implementing the tariffs, while the US itself is continuing to do business with Russia. Last year, the US conducted trade worth an estimated $3.5bn (£2.6bn) with Russia, even amid strict sanctions and tariffs.
“Like any major economy, India will take all appropriate steps to protect its national interests and economic security,” the foreign ministry statement read. The targeting of India is unfair and unreasonable,” it further said. Trump had last week referred to India as a “friend” but stated that its tariffs on American products “are far too high” and warned of an unspecified “penalty” regarding its trade with Russia.
His most recent Truth Social post was again critical in tone. India is not only purchasing huge quantities of Russian Oil, they are then selling it on the Open Market for enormous profits for much of the Oil that has been purchased,” he wrote. As a result, I will be considerably increasing the Tariff paid to the USA by India,” he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not directed India’s oil refineries to avoid purchasing Russian oil, Bloomberg quoted people familiar with the matter as saying. Ajay Srivastava, a former Indian trade official and director of the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), an Indian think tank, said Trump’s statements regarding India’s oil commerce with Russia are misleading for numerous reasons.
The BBC reports that he explained to them that the commerce has been open and widely comprehended by the US. Mr Srivastava explained that India increased its buying of oil to assist in stabilising world markets after Western sanctions disrupted supplies, defusing a world oil price shock.
He further stated that India’s public and private oil refineries determine with whom to purchase crude oil based on considerations such as price, security of supply, and export regulations. The government does not control them, nor do they require its sanction to purchase from Russia or elsewhere.
While ties between the US and Russia improved after Trump’s return to the White House in January, the US president in recent times has hardened his tone against the Kremlin and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Trump questioned whether Putin is genuinely committed to peace with Ukraine. In Monday’s post on the Truth Social site, he employed stern language, referring to the Russian military as the “Russian War Machine”.
Russia’s president has consistently asserted that he is willing to make peace but only if Kyiv adheres to certain preconditions, including the acknowledgement of Ukrainian lands which Russia has seized. Moscow has been warned of dire tariffs on its oil and other exports by Trump if it fails to come to a ceasefire with Ukraine by 8 August. US envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Russia later this week when he is to meet Putin.
