As trade tensions rise due to extra tariffs set by U.S. President Donald Trump, the Indian government has responded, calling Trump's threats against its oil trade with Russia "irrational."
These remarks follow Trump’s recent warning that he might impose more tariffs on India for buying oil from Russia. In a post on Truth Social, Trump criticized India, saying it “doesn’t care how many people Russia has killed in Ukraine,” where a war has been ongoing for years.
India is currently one of the largest buyers of Russian oil. It has increased this position since 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. In response to the war, many European nations cut trade ties with Moscow, leaving India as an important commercial partner for Russia.
While Trump didn’t specify the new tariff rates, his comments came just days after he announced a broad 25% tariff on Indian goods.
In a statement, Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal pointed out that the U.S. had actually urged India to import Russian gas at the start of the war to help stabilize global energy markets.
Jaiswal mentioned that India began importing from Russia to address the war’s economic impact, not in support of it.
India also criticized the U.S., its largest trading partner, for the tariffs, arguing that economic ties between Washington and Moscow are not entirely broken. Last year, the U.S. imported $3.5 billion worth of goods from Russia despite strict sanctions and tariffs.
“Like other major economies, India will take all necessary steps to protect its national interests and economic security,” the Indian foreign ministry stated, calling Trump’s targeting of India “baseless and unreasonable.”
Last week, Trump called India a U.S. "friend," but he also mentioned high American tariffs and issued a vague threat of “consequences” for India’s ongoing trade with Russia.
In his latest social media post, Trump escalated the situation further by claiming, “India is not just buying massive amounts of oil from Russia, they are reselling a lot of it into the open market for big profits.” He added, “Therefore, I will significantly increase tariffs on Indian goods coming into the United States.”
According to a Bloomberg report citing sources close to the situation, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not ordered Indian oil refiners to stop purchasing from Russia.
Ajay Srivastava, a former Indian trade ministry official and current head of the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) in Delhi, told the BBC that Trump’s claims were misleading for several reasons.
He stated that the trade was transparent and that the U.S. has full access to the data on it.
Srivastava explained that India increased Russian oil imports to help stabilize global markets after Western sanctions caused major disruptions, which helped avoid global oil price shocks.
He added that Indian oil companies, both public and private, make independent decisions about sourcing crude oil based on pricing, market security, and export regulations. These companies operate independently of the government and do not need official approval to buy from Russia or any other country.
Despite worsening U.S.-Russia relations since Trump’s return to the White House in January, the U.S. President has intensified his criticism of the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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