"Russian Oil Wasn't An Issue": Raghuram Rajan's Take On US Tariffs On India

The import of Russian oil was not the central reason for the Donald Trump administration's imposition of a hefty 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods in the United States, according to former Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan. A video of the senior economist has gone viral, in which he's seen suggesting that US tariffs on India were linked to how New Delhi handled comments made by Donald Trump over the military truce with Pakistan following Operation Sindoor.

Speaking at an event at the University of Zurich, Rajan claimed the US imposed a 50 per cent tariff on India because it did not endorse Trump's version of events, while Pakistan "played along" and got 19 per cent. The clip from December 4 has triggered a flood of sharp criticism, with several internet users accusing Rajan of "twisting the truth" and "undermining India" to justify US actions.

What Raghuram Rajan Said

"Russian oil wasn't the issue... I think the central issue was more personalities, especially a personality in the White House and how they treated certain comments made by India after Trump claimed credit for stopping a conflict between India and Pakistan... Pakistan played it right...said that it was all because of Trump," Rajan said, referring to the May conflict between India and Pakistan that took place after the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

🚨 REPORTER : India got 50% tariffs for buying Russian oil.

RAGHURAM RAJAN : "Russian oil wasn't the issue. Pakistan credited Trump for the ceasefire, India didn't. Pakistan has a 19% tariff, India 50%"

India chose National Interest and didn't bend 🔥pic.twitter.com/1vhipIVBFb

— News Algebra (@NewsAlgebraIND) December 8, 2025

India had launched Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam attack, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan. The military operation resulted in a brief conflict between the two nations.

"India tried to argue that the two countries had reached an agreement without Trump ... the truth is probably somewhere in between ... But the net effect was that India got 50 per cent tariffs, and Pakistan got 19 per cent. I understand that there was some comment about how your leader in Switzerland tried to explain the tariffs to Trump and that didn't go well... so we don't know what really happened between India and the US, but hopefully in the longer run sanity prevails on all sides and we all reach reasonable deals," he added.

Trump's Claim And India's Stand

At the height of the conflict with Pakistan, a ceasefire was announced on May 10. Trump has taken credit for the ceasefire, claiming his intervention ended the war. However, India has maintained that an understanding of cessation of hostilities was reached after the Pakistani military's Director General of Military Operations reached out to his Indian counterpart for direct talks over the issue.

Although Pakistan initially denied the claim, it later accepted it and went ahead and nominated Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, in "recognition of his decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership during the recent India-Pakistan crisis".

Online Backlash

Rajan's remarks received backlash from social media users, with several claiming India stood its ground by refusing to accept a false narrative, while Pakistan publicly credited Trump for the ceasefire. 

One user wrote, "India paid higher tariffs because it refused to bow politically, prioritising national interest over appeasing global powers."

India paid higher tariffs because it refused to bow politically, prioritising national interest over appeasing global powers.

— चंदन सिंह (@singhc5191) December 9, 2025

Another user criticised Rajan's interpretation of the event and wrote, "Truth is lying in between? Sorry Mr Raghuram Rajan, the truth is not lying in between, but the truth is with India. The boot licker Pakistan played the appeasement tactics to please Trump. This tactic immediately rewarded them by lower tariff - just 19% while tariff on India is 50%. Future will tell how much costly would be this 19%.""

Some users even questioned the relevance of Rajan's words, with one saying, "Even a broken clock is correct twice in a day... he needs to keep trying. Some day he will make sense."