India’s government is asking domestic refiners to provide timely and accurate data on a weekly basis of imports of Russian and U.S. crude, as New Delhi plans to show the data to the U.S. Administration as it seeks a trade deal, sources with knowledge of the efforts told Reuters on Friday.
“We want timely and accurate data on Russian and U.S. oil imports so that, when the U.S. asks for information, we can provide verified figures instead of them relying on secondary sources,” an anonymous Indian government official told Reuters.
India has been trying to seal a trade deal with the United States for months, but the Trump Administration has singled out India as the key financier of Russia’s war spending as the buyer of large volumes of Russian crude oil.
The United States and India have been locked in difficult trade talks, with the Trump Administration looking to slash its massive trade deficit with Asia’s second-biggest economy.
Amid these difficult talks, U.S. President Donald Trump has singled out India as a target to punish for buying large volumes of Russian crude oil and supporting the Kremlin’s energy revenues.
President Trump doubled the 25% tariff on India to 50% as of August 2025, to punish it for continued purchase of Russian oil.
Initially, India appeared unfazed by the tariff, but Indian refiners have slashed Russian crude purchases in the past two months since the U.S. sanctioned Russia’s two largest oil producers and exporters, Rosneft and Lukoil.
Due to the sanctions on Russia, India was expected to have imported 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude in December—volumes that would be sharply down from November and the lowest level in just over three years. The December imports would be down from an estimated 1.84 million bpd in November.
India’s imports of crude oil from Russia are expected to slip below 1 million bpd as New Delhi aims to clinch a trade deal with the U.S., Reuters’ sources said on Friday.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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