India on Monday reacted to US President Donald Trump’s threat to raise tariffs on the country for buying Russian oil by terming the actions as “unjustified and unreasonable” and claiming it would take all steps necessary to defend its national interest and economic security.
Trump’s Claims on India’s Russian Oil Trade
The external affairs ministry reacted a few hours later to Trump’s social media outburst condemning India for purchasing “huge quantities” of Russian oil and reselling it on the open market at “large profits”. Trump argued that he would be “significantly increasing” tariffs on India as the issue is connected with Russia killing individuals in Ukraine. He did not mention the amount of the imposition.
India Cites West’s Own Trade with Russia
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India had been targeted by the US and the European Union (EU) for importing oil from Russia since the start of the Ukraine conflict. Providing details of the West’s continuing trade with Russia, Jaiswal said: “In this background, the targeting of India is unjustified and unreasonable. Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security.”
Jaiswal argued that India began importing crude from Russia “because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict”. He added, “The US at that time actively encouraged such imports by India for strengthening global energy markets stability.”
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India’s imports are meant to ensure predictable and affordable energy costs for Indian consumers, he said.
“They are a necessity compelled by [the] global market situation. However, it is revealing that the very nations criticising India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia. Unlike our case, such trade is not even a vital national compulsion,” he said.
Trump’s Recurring Threats Amid Sanctions on India
This is the second time Trump threatened to impose a penalty on India for the purchase of Russian energy. The US administration last week launched a 25% reciprocal tariff for India that comes into force on August 7 and an unspecified penalty for the purchase of Russian energy. Recently, the EU rolled out a new package of sanctions that named Vadinar refinery in Gujarat, which is owned jointly by Russian energy company Rosneft, and also banned imports of refined petroleum products produced from Russian oil and originating in any third country.
West’s Ongoing Imports from Russia Exposed
“Where the US is concerned, it continues to import from Russia uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear industry, palladium for its EV industry, fertilisers as well as chemicals,” Jaiswal said.
Jaiswal gave information about the US and the EU’s ongoing trade relations with Russia, such as trade in goods by European nations and the US importing goods from Russia for its civilian nuclear sector.
The EU’s bilateral goods trade with Russia was 67.5 billion euros in 2024, while the trade in services of the 27-member bloc stood at 17.2 billion euros in 2023, he stated. “That is much higher than India’s overall trade with Russia that year or since then,” he further said.
India Becomes Top Importer of Russian Oil
European Russian LNG imports in 2024 hit a record high of 16.5 million tonnes, higher than the then previous record of 15.21 million tonnes in 2022. “The Europe-Russia trade is not only energy, but also fertilisers, mining products, chemicals, iron and steel and machinery and transport equipment,” he added.
Since the US and its Western allies imposed broad-based sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, India ramped up the import of cheap Russian goods, particularly oil and fertilizers. Russia replaced Iraq and Saudi Arabia as India’s leading suppliers of crude within no time, as the world’s third-largest importer of oil. India is now the largest consumer of seaborne Russian oil, and imported Russian oil worth $50.2 billion in 2024-25, as per a Reuters report.
No Restrictions Despite Trump’s Pressure
There have been reports that the government has not requested Indian importers to limit Russian energy purchases despite threats from the Trump administration.
Trump’s most recent remarks were made even as five-day bilateral trade talks between India and the US were set to begin from August 25 in New Delhi. India and the United States could not come to a trade agreement despite five rounds of official talks. India has declined to concede on maintaining safeguards for its agriculture, dairy and micro, small and medium enterprises from unrestricted American imports.
India Reaffirms Its Strategic Autonomy
On Monday, Trump said in a social media post that India is “not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil”, but it is also selling much of the crude “on the Open Market for big profits”. He added, “They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA.”
Trump has railed against India over its close relations with Russia on several occasions in recent days. “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care,” he said on social media last week.
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The external affairs ministry has defended India’s close ties with Russia, with Jaiswal saying last week that the two sides have a “steady and time-tested partnership”. He also said these relations “stand on their own merit and should not be seen from the prism of a third country”.
India Considers Exporter Support Amid Tariff Impact
Individuals close to the issue explained that India could provide short-term assistance to exporters to counter the relative advantage acquired by nations like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Ecuador in the US market following Trump’s executive order last week. The government is in discussions with stakeholders to identify industries impacted by the tariffs that would be offered fiscal and regulatory assistance until India and the US come to an amicable resolution, these individuals said.
