In a Truth Social post this morning, U.S. President Donald Trump declared that the United States will “substantially” raise tariffs on imports from India. The move is a response, he said, to India’s “massive” purchases of Russian crude, which it then allegedly resells on the global market for profit, while “ignoring how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian war machine.” Trump did not specify the new tariff rate.
This announcement builds on the sweeping tariff package announced days earlier. Effective August 1, a flat 25% came into force on nearly all Indian exports to the U.S., along with an additional but unspecified “penalty” tied to Indian defense and energy imports from Russia.
India has long sourced one of the world’s highest shares of its oil from Russia: up to 36–40% of total crude in 2024–25, roughly 2 million barrels a day, much of it refined domestically and sold on global markets. Despite U.S. threats, Indian officials reaffirmed over the weekend that New Delhi would continue its Russian oil procurement, citing energy security and logistics over ideological pressure.
New Delhi continues to position itself as a sovereign actor balancing energy, defense, and global diplomacy. While Western ears hear profiteering, Indian officials hear the echo of a post‑Cold War world order flexing trade sanctions like blunt instruments. As one Indian analyst said, “It’s a bluff, a bargaining ploy”, but indeed one that the refiners and exporters are forced to take seriously.
