New Delhi – SABA:
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday his intention to impose a significant increase in tariffs on India due to its import and resale of Russian oil.
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump wrote: "India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian oil but is then reselling most of the purchased oil in the open market at higher prices."
He added: "Accordingly, I will substantially increase the tariffs India pays to the United States."
Trump had previously stated that the U.S. would impose a 25% tariff on India. He noted that despite friendly relations between the two countries, trade volume remains "relatively limited" due to "very high tariffs" and "strict, burdensome non-monetary barriers."
Trump pointed out that India "has always purchased the bulk of its military equipment from Russia" and, alongside China, is "the largest buyer of Russian oil and gas."
On August 3, Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff at the White House, stated that President Trump believes India’s purchase of Russian oil is funding the conflict in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Indian Oil and Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told Russia’s TASS agency that cooperation between Moscow and New Delhi, particularly in energy, remains strong and continues to develop despite global instability. Russia now accounts for over 30% of India’s total oil imports.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi adopted a defiant tone in response to Trump’s tariff threats, urging citizens to support domestic products.
Sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Modi’s government has not issued any directives to Indian refineries to halt Russian oil purchases. These sources confirmed that the government has not decided to stop procurement and that both state and private refineries remain free to buy oil from preferred suppliers, treating the decision as purely commercial.