Key Points
- President Trump is again claiming that India has promised to stop buying Russian oil. He has threatened to keep “massive” tariffs on India if it doesn’t comply.
- The Indian government has repeatedly said it is not aware of any such agreement.
- India’s purchases of Russian oil are a major point of contention in U.S.-India trade talks.
- Despite U.S. pressure, India’s imports of Russian oil are expected to rise this month.
President Donald Trump insisted on Sunday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised him that India will stop buying Russian oil. He then issued a sharp warning: if India doesn’t follow through, it will continue to face “massive” tariffs.
“I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India, and he said he’s not going to be doing the Russian oil thing,” Trump told reporters.
This is the second time in a week that Trump has made this claim, but the Indian government has repeatedly said it is not aware of any such conversation or agreement. When pressed on this, Trump replied, “But if they want to say that, then they’ll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don’t want to do that.”
India’s continued purchases of Russian oil have been a major sticking point in the ongoing trade negotiations between the two countries. The U.S. has already imposed a 50% tariff on many Indian goods, with half of that being in direct retaliation for the oil buys. Washington argues that the oil money is funding Russia’s war in Ukraine.
While a White House official recently said that India has halved its purchases, Indian sources say there has been no immediate reduction. In fact, India’s imports of Russian oil are actually expected to rise this month as Russia ramps up its exports. For now, it seems the two sides are in a standoff, with Trump’s public pressure campaign showing no signs of letting up.
