The US has signalled the potential removal of additional 25 per cent tariffs on India, following sharply lower imports of Russian oil.
“We put a tariff on India for buying Russian oil. Indian purchases of Russian oil have collapsed,” said Scott Bessent, US treasury secretary. “The tariffs are still on. I would imagine there is a path to take them off… So that’s a check and a huge success.” He was speaking with a US-headquartered publication at the World Economic Forum. The secretary also criticised European countries for buying refined Russian oil from India.
US sanctions have shrunk India’s purchasing pool for Moscow crude, leaving just Indian Oil, Nayara and BPCL lifting cargoes in the first half of January, ET reported earlier this month. India’s imports of Russian oil averaged 1.18 million barrels per day during January 1-15.
This is about 30 per cent lower, both from a year earlier and the 2025 average, according to Kpler, a global real-time data and analytics provider. Imports were about 3 per cent lower compared with December.
Trade tensions escalated between New Delhi and Washington last August, when US President Donald Trump doubled duties on Indian goods to 50 per cent, including a 25 per cent levy in response to Russian crude trade.
Bessent’s remarks come amid heightened pressure from Trump, who earlier warned that tariffs could increase further unless India curtails its Russian oil purchases. New Delhi remains firm on its India First energy policy and stance of strategic autonomy. External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said developments around a proposed US Congressional Bill that could hike duties to 500 per cent were being closely monitored.
On Wednesday, Trump said he believed “we’re reasonably close” to a deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, which may result in the removal of US sanctions on Russia and ease prices.
Meanwhile, US energy secretary Chris Wright has said the world needs to more than double oil production, while criticising the European Union and the US state of California for wasting money on what he described as inefficient green energy.
Bessent also argued that by buying refined petroleum products from India (Russian crude), Europe is indirectly financing Russia’s war effort. “Before the Ukraine invasion, approximately 2-3 per cent of Indian oil that went into its refineries came from Russia. The oil was sanctioned. It got deeply discounted and moved up… 7 per cent, 18-19 per cent was being refined. Huge profits from the refiners. But in the ultimate act of irony and stupidity, guess who was buying the refined products from the Indian refineries made from Russian oil? The Europeans. They are financing the war against themselves. They are financing the Russians.”
