As international politics gets heated up on energy security, with reports of the US President backing a Bill that can increase tariffs on Indian goods to at least 500 per cent, the Indian government on Friday said any decision on energy sourcing would be taken keeping in mind the imperative of 1.4 billion population of India.
“We are aware of the proposed bill. We are closely following the developments,” Randhir Jaiswal, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, told reporters on Friday in a media briefing.
“Our energy sourcing is dependent on evolving dynamics in the global market and also the imperative for us to provide energy at affordable rates to our 1.4 billion population so that energy security needs are met,” he added.
The remark assumes importance given the recent comment of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, in a post on X, that the US President has given a green signal to the “Sanctioning of Russia Act 2025 “, which proposes wide-ranging penalties on individuals and entities connected to Russia. One major provision includes increasing duties on all goods and services imported from Russia into the US to at least 500 per cent of their value.
The Bill, he said, is likely to be taken up by the Congress as early as next week.
In August last year, the Trump administration imposed a 50 per cent tariff on Indian exports to the US, that included a 25 per cent tariff for purchasing Russian oil.
India has been the second-biggest buyer of Russian oil after China. According to data from Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), India has imported $168 billion worth of Russian crude oil since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
However, imports of Russian crude fell by 595 kbpd month-on-month in December, dropping to 1.24 mbpd—the lowest level since December 2022, according to Kpler.
