- Tariff penalty targets India’s purchase of Russian military equipment and energy
- India is the largest buyer of Russian energy and military supplies alongside China
- India prioritises citizens’ interests in buying Russian oil at competitive prices
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced the US will impose a 25 per cent tariff on Indian imports starting August 1. The announcement came on Truth Social, the platform owned by the US president.
Mr Trump said the decision also comes with a penalty on India for buying military equipment and energy from Russia, amid the war in Ukraine. He said India has always bought a majority of its military supplies from Russia and is one of the largest buyers of Russian energy, along with China.
"At a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine, these things are not good," Mr Trump said.
India has always maintained that Russia is a close, all-weather friend that has supported India throughout the decades. India deployed the S-400 air defence system during its recent conflict with Pakistan.
On Buying Russian Oil
The question of buying Russian oil is also not something that India will compromise just because the US says so, according to analysts. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said very clearly that India will prioritise the interest of its citizens first and buy oil from anyone that sells at the best possible price.
"India is a big oil consumer... We are a big oil importer because we don't have oil. Now, it is not like there is a political strategy to buy oil... There is an oil strategy to buy oil... There is a market strategy," Mr Jaishankar said in August 2024.
Mr Jaishankar has repeatedly defended India's continuing purchase of Russian crude following the war in Ukraine, while the US has imposed sanctions on Russian oil.
Prior to the war in Ukraine, India rarely bought Russian crude due to high freight costs. By 2023, though, Moscow was selling about 1.66 million barrels per day, up from less than 700,000 in 2022. India eventually became the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian crude since the West halted purchases and imposed sanctions against Moscow.
In February 2024 too, Mr Jaishankar called out western nations for continuing to buy from Russia in the Ukraine war's early phases.
In December 2022, he said, "I understand that there is a conflict situation (in Ukraine). I also understand that Europe has a point of view and Europe will make the choices it will make that is Europe's right. But for Europe to make choices which prioritises its energy needs and then ask India to do something else...
"And bear in mind, today, Europe is buying a lot (of crude oil) from the Middle-East. The Middle-East was traditionally a supplier for an economy like India. So it puts pressure on prices in the Middle-East as well. We have been very, very understanding of the European choices and European policies.
"I think first we need to establish the facts very clearly. Between February 24 and November 17, the European Union has imported more fossil fuel from Russia than the next 10 countries combined. The oil import in the European Union is like six times what India has imported. Gas is infinite because we do not import it while the European Union imported 50 billions Euros worth (of gas)."
On Ukraine And Military Purchases
India has been using a massive arsenal of Russian military hardware from missiles and aircraft to tanks and naval assets for many decades. In recent years India started buying from the US too.
At times of need, Russian military hardware has come to India's rescue. Russian-origin military assets along with assorted others were used in the Kargil conflict in 1999.
As recently as during Operation Sindoor, India deployed the Russian-made S-400 long range air defence missile system to deter Pakistani attacks.
On the war in Ukraine, India's stance has been that it would support any feasible and mutually acceptable solution or format that could restore peace.
India has always advocated constructive, solution-oriented, and practical engagement with all stakeholders to achieve a negotiated settlement to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
