The United States may raise tariffs on India if New Delhi does not meet Washington’s demand to curb purchases of Russian oil, President Donald Trump said, escalating pressure on the Modi government as protracted trade talks remain inconclusive.

“(Prime Minister Narendra) Modi is a good guy. He knew I was not happy, and it was important to make me happy,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

“They do trade, and we can raise tariffs on them very quickly,” Trump said in response to a question on India’s Russian oil purchases.

India’s exports face one of the highest tariff barriers in the US after Trump doubled duties to 50 per cent effective August 27, 2025, for buying Russian oil which the US alleged was funding Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.

Trump’s remarks were reinforced by efforts in US Congress, where senator Lindsey Graham is pushing legislation to impose steep secondary tariffs on countries buying Russian oil and gas if Moscow fails to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine within 50 days.

Graham was aboard Air Force One on Sunday (Monday morning in India) when Trump made the comments. The senator credited the President for India bringing down its purchase of Russian oil. “I was at the residence of the Indian ambassador a month ago and all he wanted to talk about was how they are buying less Russian oil — “would you tell the President to relieve the tariff?” This stuff works,” Graham observed.

India’s ministry of external affairs did not comment on the remarks made by Trump and Graham.

India is projected to buy an average of 1 million barrels per day of Russian oil in January, down from 1.9 BPD before the US put sanctions on two of Russia’s largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil.

The country, the world’s third-largest oil importer, emerged as the biggest buyer of discounted Russian crude after Western countries shunned Moscow following its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier this month, the government started collecting data from refineries in India of their weekly purchase of Russian barrels and that from the US. The information was being sought from the Prime Minister’s Office, Reuters had reported.

Policy think tank GTRI argued that India must shed its ambiguous stand on Russian oil. Indian exports to the US have already fallen 20.7 per cent between May and November 2025, and further tariff escalation could trigger a steeper decline.