‘India will continue to pay massive tariffs’: Trump renews threat over Russian oil

US President Donald Trump reiterated his claim of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assurance that India would stop buying oil from Russia. Speaking to the media aboard Air Force One, Trump warned that India would continue to pay “massive” tariffs on its imports to the US if New Delhi didn’t curb its oil purchase from Moscow.

 

“PM (Modi) told me, ‘I’m not going to be doing the Russian oil thing.’ But if they keep doing it, they’ll be paying massive tariffs,” said the US leader.

 

Asked about India's assertion that it was not aware of any conversation between Modi and Trump, Trump replied: "But if they want to say that, then they'll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don't want to do that."

 

The Trump administration has accused India of funding Russia’s war machine in Ukraine through the oil purchase and imposed a 25 per cent punitive tariff, taking the total levy on Indian goods to the US to 50 per cent. 

 

India is the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels behind China, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). Moscow exported 1.62 million barrels per day to India in September, roughly one-third of the country's oil imports. 

 

Last week, during a press conference at the Oval Office, Trump claimed Modi had assured him that India would stop buying oil from Russia. He also termed it a "big step" in the efforts to put pressure on Moscow to end the Ukraine war.

 

He's (PM Modi) a friend of mine. We have a great relationship...I was not happy that India was buying oil. And he assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That's a big stop. Now we've got to get China to do the same thing," the President said.

 

India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, significantly increased its imports from Russia following the February 2022 Ukraine invasion, taking advantage of the discounted prices Moscow has been forced to accept after European buyers shunned purchases.

 

India's Russian crude imports surged from under 1 per cent to nearly 40 per cent of its total crude oil imports in a short span.

 

New Delhi has been maintaining that its oil imports are driven by national energy security and affordability concerns and that its position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict remains “independent and balanced”. 

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