File photo of U.S. President Donald Trump
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Less than a week after he announced a 25% tariff on imports from India “plus a penalty”, U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday (August 4, 2025) once again raised the issue of India buying oil from Russia and profiting from it. He stated that he would be “substantially” raising the tariff “paid by India to the USA”.
It is important to note that such tariffs are paid by importers in the U.S., rather than the country on which the tariffs are levied.
“India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits,” Mr. Trump posted on the social network Truth Social. “They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA. [sic]”
Responding to Mr. Trump’s latest announcement, New Delhi said, “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.”
An official statement late on Monday (August 4, 2025) said, “India has been targeted by the United States and the European Union for importing oil from Russia after the commencement of the Ukraine conflict. In fact, India began importing from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict. The United States at that time actively encouraged such imports by India for strengthening global energy markets stability.”
The statement added that India’s imports were meant to ensure predictable and affordable energy costs to the Indian consumer and that they were a necessity compelled by global market situation.
“However, it is revealing that the very nations criticizing India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia. Unlike our case, such trade is not even a vital national compulsion,” the statement said. “The European Union in 2024 had a bilateral trade of Euro 67.5 billion in goods with Russia. In addition, it had trade in services estimated at Euro 17.2 billion in 2023. This is significantly more than India’s total trade with Russia that year or subsequently. European imports of LNG in 2024, in fact, reached a record 16.5mn tonnes, surpassing the last record of 15.21mn tonnes in 2022.”
“Europe-Russia trade includes not just energy, but also fertilizers, mining products, chemicals, iron and steel and machinery and transport equipment. Where the United States is concerned, it continues to import from Russia uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear industry, palladium for its EV industry, fertilizers as well as chemicals. In this background, 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,” the statement said.
The U.S. President had on July 31 signed an executive order that authorised a 25% tariff on imports from India. A day earlier, he had posted on Truth Social that he would be imposing this tariff plus a penalty “because their [India’s] tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the world, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any country”.
Apart from this, he also cited India’s energy and military equipment purchases from Russia as an irritant.
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Following this announcement, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal informed both Houses of Parliament that the government was “studying the implications” of Mr. Trump’s announcement, consulting all the relevant domestic stakeholders, and would “take all steps necessary to secure our national interest”.
The 25% tariff places India at a relative disadvantage compared to some of its competitors such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Mexico, and the Philippines. So far, Mr. Trump’s new tariffs are expected to take effect from August 7.
Published – August 04, 2025 08:37 pm IST