US Penalised India, But Data Shows It Traded More With Russia Than Ukraine

While the United States slapped India with the highest rate tier of 50 per cent tariff -- a punitive action against New Delhi's trade with Russia -- a deep dive into US government data exposed Washington's hypocrisy. The US Census Bureau's monthly trade data show that Washington did more trade with Moscow than with its ally Kyiv in nearly four years since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

The data shows that before the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022, Washington's trade with Moscow stood at USD 25.233 billion, while its trade with Ukraine was a mere USD 9.69 billion.

Since the beginning of the war, though trade between the US and Russia has drastically contracted, it has remained significantly higher than US-Ukrainian trade. 

If we merely look at import data for the two nations, since February 2022, the US has imported $22.55 billion of Russian goods. During the same timeframe, America's trade with Ukraine stood at just $5 billion. 

A Look At Trade Data

In 2022, the US imported goods worth $14.437 billion from Russia, while its imports from Ukraine stood at $1.503 billion

In 2023, the US imported goods worth  $4.570 billion from Russia, while its imports from Ukraine stood at $1.319 billion

In 2024, the US imported goods worth $3,007 billion from Russia, while its imports from Ukraine stood at $1.179 billion

In 2025, the US imported goods worth $2,496 billion from Russia, while its imports from Ukraine stood at $769 million

US Double Standards

Data shows a clear pattern-- though substantially reduced, the US poured more money into the Russian economy than it did in Ukraine. India has called out these Western double standards after Trump and his aides tried to justify the punitive tariffs by essentially accusing New Delhi of financing Russia's war in Ukraine by purchasing oil from Moscow.

New Delhi pointed out that the US and EU themselves import substantial volumes of goods, including energy in the case of Europe, from Russia. 

Moreover, data released by the Indian Embassy in Kyiv show that the percentage of India's trade cooperation with Ukraine in terms of Ukrainian imports has been higher than that of America's, since the beginning of the war. 

When the war began during FY 2021-22, India's imports from Ukraine stood at $ 2.913 billion. Though the trade plummeted by over 77 per cent in the coming years-- due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict disrupting logistics and cargo movement-- it remained a lot more than US imports. 

In 2023, India imported goods worth $650.26 million from Ukraine. The figure was $539 million in 2024, and it increased to $1.036 billion in 2025.