President Trump warns India of tariffs over Russian oil imports

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has warned Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that if India does not stop importing Russian oil, it will continue to face “heavy tariffs.”

However, President Trump once again said that the Indian Prime Minister has assured him that India will stop buying oil from Russia.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, President Trump said that I have spoken to Prime Minister Modi, and he has said that he will not buy Russian oil.

Trump claimed on Wednesday that Modi assured him over the phone that India will stop importing Russian oil.

But the Indian Ministry of External Affairs has expressed ignorance of any such contact and said that India’s most important objective is to protect the interests of its consumers.

When Trump was asked about the Indian Ministry of External Affairs’ statement that he was not aware of any such conversation, he said that if he wanted to say that, then he would have to continue paying heavy tariffs, and he did not want that.

Russian oil purchases have been a major sticking point in trade talks between the US and India. The Trump administration has imposed tariffs of up to 50% on Indian products, half of which are in response to Russian oil purchases.

The US government argues that Russian oil revenues finance Russian military operations in the war in Ukraine. India has become the world’s largest buyer of Russian oil at discounted prices since Western sanctions were imposed on Russia.

A White House official said on Thursday that India has cut its purchases of Russian oil by half.

But Indian media said there was no clear cut at the moment. According to these sources, purchase orders have already been placed for November and December, so the impact of any potential reduction would be seen in imports in December or January.

India’s Russian oil imports could rise 20% this month to 1.9 million barrels per day, as Russia ramps up exports following the Ukrainian attacks, according to estimates from commodity data provider Kpler.