India has committed to stop buying Russian oil “directly or indirectly”, US President Donald Trump said while lifting the 25 per cent penal tariff on Indian exports, but the Narendra Modi government has declined to confirm this.
The executive order issued by Trump said that US officials would monitor whether India had resumed importing Russian oil.
If it finds that India has again started to import the oil directly or indirectly, the US officials shall recommend “whether and to what extent I should take additional action as to India, including whether I should reimpose the additional ad valorem rate of duty of 25 per cent on imports of articles of India,” the order stated.
Asked about India’s commitment on oil, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal directed the question to the external affairs ministry, which repeated India’s position without directly responding to Trump’s claims.
“Insofar as India’s energy sourcing is concerned, the government has stated publicly on several occasions that ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion Indians is the supreme priority of the government. Diversifying our energy sourcing in keeping with objective market conditions and evolving international dynamics is at the core of our strategy to ensure this. All of India’s actions are taken and will be taken with this in mind,” an external affairs ministry spokesperson said.
India’s purchase of discounted Ural crude peaked after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, making the country the largest buyer after China. The oil trade with Moscow, cited by Trump to double the reciprocal tariff to 50 per cent on India for allegedly funding the Kremlin’s war machine, is on the wane but has not stopped.
The oil tanker Minerva Virgo, docked at the oil terminal, is seen after leaving a Russian port around the time that nation invaded Ukraine in late February PTI
In January this year, India’s Russian crude imports eased to around 1.1 million barrels per day, the lowest since November 2022, according to data monitoring and research agency Kpler. Following the announcement of the US-India trade deal, the trade volume could soften further to less than 1 million bpd (barrels per day).
Nikhil Dubey, a senior research analyst with Kpler, said even if public sector refiners scaled back, Gujarat-based Nayara is likely to continue to lift Russian barrels because of its ownership structure (Russian-owned) and current circumstances.
India map
As New Delhi and Washington announced details of the bilateral interim agreement framework on trade, a map of India issued by the US Trade Representative’s office on Friday drew attention.The map, posted by US Trade Representative on the social media site X, showed the entire region of Jammu and Kashmir, including Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, as Indian territory.Similarly, the Aksai Chin region, claimed by China, is also shown as part of the Indian territory, a significant messaging by the US.