Moscow backs Delhi as Trump warns of higher tariffs in 24 hours

Mint

2 days ago

In a sharp escalation of trade tensions, US president Donald Trump on Tuesday warned that he would impose higher tariffs on Indian goods within 24 hours, citing India's continued purchases of Russian oil. In an interview with CNBC, Trump accused India of fuelling Russia's war in Ukraine and labelled it the 'highest tariff nation," claiming that India benefits from US trade while not offering reciprocal access.
'With India… what people don't like to say is they have the highest tariff of anybody. We do very little business with them because their tariffs are so high," Trump said, adding, 'We settled on 25%, but I think I'm going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they're buying Russian oil. They're fueling the war machine."
Russia swiftly stepped up to India's support, denouncing the US stance as part of a 'neo-colonial agenda" aimed at arm-twisting sovereign nations. The spat comes amid ongoing trade negotiations between India and the US, and growing friction over Washington's tariff actions.
Steel duty
Earlier in the day, India's minister of state for commerce Jitin Prasada told Parliament that New Delhi has not received any response from Washington to its request for consultations under a WTO agreement regarding the steep 50% duty imposed by the US on Indian steel, aluminium, and related products. The US has cited national security concerns, a claim India disputes.
'India has accordingly reserved its right to suspend substantially equivalent concessions (right to impose equal trade measures in response) as the US has not complied with its obligations under the AoS," Prasada said, referring to the WTO's Agreement on Safeguards (AoS).
While Prasada's statement was in the context of US tariffs on metals, it reflects a wider hardening of India's position as the US now threatens additional duties tied to geopolitical differences.
India and the US have held five rounds of talks on a Bilateral Trade Agreement since March this year, the most recent in Washington from 14-18 July.
Prasada also said, 'To safeguard the interests of farmers and domestic industry, international trade negotiations allow for inclusion of sensitive, negative or exclusion lists—categories of goods on which limited or no tariff concessions are granted."
'Intentional targeting'
Trade analyst Ajay Srivastava, founder of the think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), said the US is intentionally targeting India because New Delhi has refused to bring non-negotiable issues such as agriculture and dairy to the discussion table. 'It's a known fact that China imports far more oil from Russia than India does; yet, the US is silent on Beijing. This selective pressure on India reflects strategic targeting, not just trade concern," Srivastava said.
In 2024, China imported $62.6 billion worth of Russian oil, compared to India's $52.7 billion, as per GTRI data.
'Even the US continues to import uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear sector, palladium for EVs, fertilizers and chemicals from Russia, and the European Union remains a key buyer of Russian crude oil, LNG, and petroleum products. Then why is India being singled out?", he asked.
Russia's foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova rebuked the US over the tariff measures, accusing Washington of 'pursuing a neocolonial agenda" and interfering in the internal affairs of sovereign nations. On the US raising tariff barriers against key Global South partners, Zakharova said such actions 'cannot halt the natural course of history."
She added that sanctions and restrictions have become a defining feature of the current global order. 'Unable to accept the erosion of its dominance in an emerging multipolar world, Washington continues to impose politically motivated economic pressure on those choosing an independent path," she said.
Indian action
A day earlier, New Delhi had called the targeting of India 'unjustified and unreasonable." In a statement issued on late Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs had said that like any major economy, India would take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security.
'The US itself continues to import uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear sector, palladium for EVs, fertilizers and chemicals from Russia," the ministry had said. The statement noted that India's Russian oil purchases were driven by a need to secure affordable and reliable energy after traditional suppliers shifted exports to Europe at the start of the Ukraine conflict. 'At the time, the US had actively encouraged India's oil imports from Russia to help stabilize global markets," it added.
India's energy imports are aimed at ensuring price stability for domestic consumers, the ministry said, contrasting this with continuing trade between Russia and its critics.
'Unlike India, such trade is not a national compulsion for them," it said. The European Union, it said, recorded €67.5 billion worth of goods trade with Russia in 2024, while services trade stood at €17.2 billion in 2023. Europe's LNG imports from Russia also hit a record 16.5 million tonnes in 2024, surpassing the previous peak of 15.21 million tonnes in 2022. EU-Russia trade also spans fertilizers, mining goods, chemicals, metals and machinery.
Russian oil
India's oil imports from Russia have declined recently. In May 2025, purchases fell 9.8% to $9.2 billion compared to a year ago, official data shows.
In FY24, India exported about $70.1 billion worth of refined petroleum products globally. Europe emerged as the largest regional destination, with exports to the continent valued at $18.4 billion, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.
The Netherlands alone accounted for about $10.9 billion, representing nearly 25% of India's total petroleum product exports during this period—the highest share among European countries—highlighting its role as a key transit hub for Indian refined fuel entering the EU market. This trend has triggered concerns among Western nations that India's trade route could be serving as a backdoor for Russian oil entering the European market.
In FY25, the value of India's crude oil imports from Russia stood at about $50.3 billion, making it the largest supplier of crude to India, surpassing traditional sources like Iraq and Saudi Arabia. India imported around 1.75 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian oil between January and June 2025, making it the top supplier in that period.
Mint reported on 2 August that India will continue to buy oil from Russia, notwithstanding the penal threat and public criticism from the US earlier this week. In fact, India is even reaping a bigger discount on these purchases.
Crude cargoes
State-owned refiners—Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL)—are continuing to procure oil from Russian suppliers. Negotiations are also underway for fresh spot deals, as reported by Mint.
The last two or three cargoes have been booked at a discount of up to $3 a barrel, compared to about $1.7 in the earlier purchases, and it is likely to rise further, even if not significantly, after Trump's censure of India for its Russian energy purchases, Mint reported. The discounts on Russian oil have narrowed down to single-digit from the high of around $30 per barrel in 2022.
India's state-run oil marketers are also in joint discussions with US firms to secure cooking gas supplies starting next year, signalling a potential deepening of energy ties. The companies are exploring long-term arrangements with American exporters.
India traditionally imports most of its LPG from West Asian countries including Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia through long-term contracts, while other major LPG importing countries source it from the US. The US so far has been supplying India LPG in small volumes through spot deals, and this is the first time the Indian companies may have a term deal with US suppliers. On the other hand, China has been a major buyer of LPG from the US.