AsianFin -- The Indian government will halt purchases of sanctioned Russian oil, U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday cited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks following a conversation that day.
AI Generated Image
″[Modi] assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That’s a big stop.” Trump said at the press briefing in the White House. “Now we’ve got to get China to do the same thing.”
Trump acknowledged India can not stop oil shipments immediately. He said the halt will be “a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over with soon.” He didn’t provide an exact timetable, while seeing India’s oil purchase will restart once Moscow’s war in Ukraine ends.
“If India doesn’t buy [Russian] oil, it makes [ending the war] much easier,” Trump said. “They assured me within a short period of time, they will not be buying oil from Russia, and they will go back to Russia after the war is over.”
New Delhi didn’t comment on any decision about purchase of Russian oil, nor on Modi’s assurance to stop the purchase. A spokeswoman for the Indian embassy in Washington DC would not comment.
The Indian government on Tuesday reiterated the country’s energy policies are driven by consumer interests. "India is a significant importer of oil and gas. It has been our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario. Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement, in response to media queries on comments on India’s energy sourcing.
Trump on August 6 signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on imports from India over Russian oil purchase. The new tariffs entered into effect 21 days after announcement of the order, which effectively raised tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Indian goods to 50% in August. India accordingly became one of the countries facing the highest U.S. tariffs that month. The 50% tariff rate is well above the 10% baseline tariffs that goods from most U.S. trading partners including India have charged since April.
Reports last month suggested the Trump administration was seeking to put more pressure on the Kremlin to end the war in Ukraine by imposing steep tariffs on India and China.
Trump on September 9 was reported to press the European Union to hit China and India with up to 100% tariffs during a meeting between U.S. and EU officials discussing options to double down economic pressure on Russia.
The U.S. calls on the Group of Seven (G7) to levy 50% to 100% secondary tariffs on China and India for their purchases of Russian oil, Bloomberg on September 12 cited a proposal. In addition to tariffs, the proposal calls for restrictive trade measures on both imports and exports to curb the flow of Russian energy and to prevent the transfer of dual-use technologies into Russia.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Treasury on September 12 demanded “meaningful tariffs” on Chinese and Indian goods as part of actions against Russia, arguing that both countries’ continued purchases were prolonging the Russia-Ukraine war. “Chinese and Indian purchases of Russian oil are funding Putin’s war machine,” the spokesperson said, noting that such secondary tariffs will be rescinded that the war ends.
