College students from Gurukul Faculty of Artwork, carry a poster of Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump on India exterior their college. U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a 25% tariff on India together with penalties for purchasing oil and army equipments from Russia.
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India mentioned it was is being “focused” by the U.S. and the European Union over its imports of Russian oil after U.S. President Donald Trump in an in a single day social media put up threatened New Delhi with a lot steeper tariffs.
India started importing oil from Russia solely after conventional provides had been diverted to Europe following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine battle in 2022, the nation’s international ministry mentioned in an announcement late Monday.
The ministry referred to as out the EU and the U.S. saying, “it’s revealing that the very nations criticizing India are themselves indulging in commerce with Russia. In contrast to our case, such commerce will not be even a significant nationwide compulsion [for them].”
The EU’s bilateral commerce with Russia stood at 67.5 billion euros ($78.1 billion) in 2024, whereas its providers commerce in 2023 was at 17.2 billion euros, in response to European Fee knowledge. Citing that knowledge, India mentioned the bloc’s commerce was “considerably extra” than India’s whole commerce with Russia.
Information from the Indian embassy in Moscow confirmed bilateral commerce between New Delhi and Moscow reached a document $68.7 billion for the 12 months ended March 2025, practically 5.8 occasions increased than the pre-pandemic commerce of $10.1 billion.
The EU, in the meantime, was Russia’s third-biggest commerce accomplice in 2024, accounting for 38.4% of the bloc’s whole commerce with the nation, sliding from being Moscow’s prime accomplice in 2020. EU’s items commerce with Russia dropped to 67.5 billion euros in 2024 from 257.5 billion euros in 2021.
India’s response comes after Trump threatened on Monday that he could be “considerably elevating” the tariffs on India, though he didn’t specify the extent of the upper tariffs. The U.S. president had threatened a 25% responsibility on Indian exports, in addition to an unspecified “penalty” final week.
He additionally accused India of shopping for discounted Russian oil and “promoting it on the Open Marketplace for massive earnings.”
Russia grew to become the main oil provider to India because the battle in Ukraine started, growing imports from slightly below 100,000 barrels per day earlier than the invasion, or a 2.5% of its whole imports, to greater than 1.8 million barrels per day in 2023, or 39%, in response to the U.S. Power Data Administration’s report earlier this 12 months.
“America at the moment actively inspired such imports by India for strengthening world vitality markets stability,” the nation mentioned in its assertion.
In keeping with the Worldwide Power Company, 70% of Russian crude was exported to India in 2024. India mentioned oil imports had been meant to make sure predictable and inexpensive vitality prices to the Indian client.
India has prior to now defended its oil purchases from Russia, with Hardeep Singh Puri, the nation’s vitality minister, saying in an interview final month with CNBC that New Delhi helped stabilize world vitality costs and was inspired by the U.S. to take action.
“If individuals or international locations had stopped shopping for at that stage, the value of oil would have gone as much as 130 {dollars} a barrel. That was a scenario during which we had been suggested, together with by our mates in america, to please purchase Russian oil, however throughout the value cap,” Puri mentioned.
India additionally took intention on the U.S, saying the nation continues to import uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear business, palladium for the electric-vehicle business, in addition to fertilizers and chemical compounds.
U.S. bilateral commerce with Russia in 2024 stood at $5.2 billion, in contrast with practically $36 billion in 2021, authorities knowledge confirmed. The U.S. has not imposed any “reciprocal tariffs” on Russia.
“On this background, the focusing on of India is unjustified and unreasonable. Like several main financial system, India will take all mandatory measures to safeguard its nationwide pursuits and financial safety,” New Delhi mentioned.
