India calls out US, Europe for targeting Delhi, points to their trade with Russia

Hindustan Times

3 days ago

NEW DELHI: India on Monday responded to US President Donald Trump's threat to increase tariffs on the country for purchasing Russian energy by describing such moves as 'unjustified and unreasonable' and asserting it would take all necessary steps to protect its national interests and economic security. Prime Minister Narendra Modi being received by external affairs minister S Jaishankar at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. (REUTERS FILE PHOTO)
The response from the external affairs ministry came hours after Trump's outburst on social media over India buying 'massive amounts' of Russian oil and selling it on the open market for 'big profits'. Trump contended that he would be 'substantially raising' tariffs on India since the matter is linked to the killing of people in Ukraine by Russia.
This is the second time that Trump has threatened to impose unspecified penalties on India for purchasing Russian energy. The US administration has already unveiled a 25% reciprocal tariff for India that becomes effective on August 7. Last month, the EU unveiled a new sanctions package that listed Vadinar refinery in Gujarat, jointly owned by Russian energy firm Rosneft, and included an import ban on refined petroleum products made from Russian crude oil and coming from any third country.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India had been targeted by the US and the European Union (EU) for importing oil from Russia since the start of the Ukraine conflict. Providing details of the West's continuing trade with Russia, Jaiswal said: 'In this background, the targeting of India is unjustified and unreasonable. Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security.'
Jaiswal argued that India began importing crude from Russia 'because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict'. He added, 'The US at that time actively encouraged such imports by India for strengthening global energy markets stability.'
India's imports are meant to ensure predictable and affordable energy costs for Indian consumers, he said. 'They are a necessity compelled by [the] global market situation. However, it is revealing that the very nations criticising India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia. Unlike our case, such trade is not even a vital national compulsion,' he said.
Jaiswal provided details of the US and the EU's continuing trade relations with Russia, including trade in goods by European countries and the import of items from Russia by the US for its civil nuclear industry.
The EU's bilateral trade in goods with Russia was worth 67.5 billion euros in 2024, while the 27-member bloc's trade in services was estimated at 17.2 billion euros in 2023, he said. 'This is significantly more than India's total trade with Russia that year or subsequently,' he added.
European imports of Russian LNG in 2024 reached a record 16.5 million tonnes, surpassing the previous record of 15.21 million tonnes in 2022. 'Europe-Russia trade includes not just energy, but also fertilisers, mining products, chemicals, iron and steel and machinery and transport equipment,' he said.
'Where the US is concerned, it continues to import from Russia uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear industry, palladium for its EV industry, fertilisers as well as chemicals,' Jaiswal said.
After the US and its Western partners slapped wide-ranging sanctions on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, India increased the purchase of discounted Russian commodities, especially oil and fertilisers. Russia soon displaced Iraq and Saudi Arabia as the leading suppliers of crude to India, the world's third-largest oil importer. India is currently the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian crude, and purchased Russian oil worth $50.2 billion in 2024-25.
Reports have suggested that the government has not asked Indian importers to curb purchases of Russian energy in the face of threats from the Trump administration. Trump had earlier said he would impose a 25% tariff on Indian goods and an unspecified penalty for purchasing Russian energy and military hardware.
On Monday, Trump said in a social media post that India is 'not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil', but it is also selling much of the crude 'on the Open Market for big profits'. He added, 'They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA.'
Trump has railed against India over its close relations with Russia on several occasions in recent days. 'I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care,' he said on social media last week.
The external affairs ministry has defended India's close ties with Russia, with Jaiswal saying last week that the two sides have a 'steady and time-tested partnership'. He also said these relations 'stand on their own merit and should not be seen from the prism of a third country'.