US may not impose additional 25 pc tariffs on India over Russian oil, hints Trump

New Delhi, Aug 16 The Donald Trump administration may not impose secondary tariffs on India over purchasing Russian energy, as the US President said that Russia has already lost a key oil client.

Speaking to Fox News aboard Air Force One en route to Alaska, Trump said the US may not impose secondary tariffs on countries continuing to buying Russian crude oil.

"Well, he (Vladimir Putin) lost an oil client, so to speak, which is India, which was doing about 40 per cent of the oil. China, as you know, is doing a lot…,” said Trump.

“And if I did what's called a secondary sanction, or a secondary tariff, it would be very devastating from their standpoint. If I have to do it, I'll do it. Maybe I won't have to do it,” he added.

The secondary 25 per cent tariffs on India are likely to come into effect from August 27.

Earlier this week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said if “things don't go well” between Trump and Putin at the Alaska summit, then secondary sanctions on India for purchasing Russian oil could go higher.

Meanwhile, the government has already said the targeting of India is unjustified and unreasonable. “Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,” it said.

The fact is that India has sharply increased its purchases of oil and gas from America. This, in turn, has led to a reduction in India’s trade surplus with the US, which is a major aim of the Trump administration’s trade policy.

Official figures show that India’s oil and gas imports from the US have jumped by as much as 51 per cent from January to June this year. The country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from the US nearly doubled to $2.46 billion in the financial year 2024-25 from $1.41 billion in 2023-24.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured in February that India would increase energy imports from the US to $25 billion in 2025 from $15 billion in 2024 to help reduce the trade deficit of the US. This was followed by Government-owned Indian oil and gas companies entering into discussions for more long-term energy purchases from the US companies. New Delhi has also made it clear that it was diversifying its sources of energy imports to reduce dependence on Russian oil.

New Delhi has also made it clear that India and the US share a very important strategic relationship that goes beyond trade.

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