Former President Donald Trump has threatened to increase tariffs on Indian products in the United States if he does not stop buying oil from Russia. However, New Delhi has made it clear that they will continue to buy Russian oil to protect national interest and economic security.
Donald Trump alleged that India was buying a large quantity of oil from Russia and a large portion of that oil was again selling in the world market and making a profit. Social media Truth Sosle wrote, “They are absolutely indifferent to seeing the death of the Ukrainians in the hands of the Russian war.” That is why I will raise US tariffs on India to a larger scale. ‘
In response, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jayaswal said, “The threat that targets India is unfair and irrational.” He added, ‘The countries that are criticizing India are still running business with Russia. But in our case, buying Russian oil is a national requirement, which is created from the reality of the world market. ‘
Indian government sources told Reuters the news agency that India would not stop buying Russian oil despite the Trump administration’s threat.
Earlier, the Trump administration imposed 20 percent tariff on Indian products after the failure of the trade agreement between the United States and India. In this context, Russian oil has created new tensions.
According to Reuters, India has imported about £ 5 billion oil from Russia in the fiscal year (April 2021 to March 2021) till March 2021. And from January to June this year, India imports an average of 100,000 barrels of oil from Russia every day, which is 5 percent higher than the previous year.
India, the third largest oil importer in the world, meets only 5 percent of their total demand with Russian oil. When Europe dismissed Russian fuel after the Russian attack in Ukraine in 2022, India became a large importer of Russian oil. In the first year, the country imports about 2 million barrels of Russian oil a day, which is close to 2 percent of the global supply. China and Turkey are also the largest buyers of Russian oil.
India’s Russian oil imports doubled in 2021. Besides, they have also increased the export of refined oil in Europe.
Last April, ‘Clepler’ data says that India’s Russian oil imports are currently increasing at an average of 2 million barrels per day, the highest after May 2021. And in the fiscal year this year, India has imported a total of 100,000 barrels of oil per day from Russia and other countries, which is 5 percent higher than the previous year. Of these, Russian oil portion has risen to 5 percent in India. At this time, the United States was the fourth largest oil supplier country in Russia, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
Richard Rosso, head of the Washington-based ‘Center for Strategic and International Studies’, believes that the uncertainty of the Trump administration has become a major challenge for India.
However, Indian analysts say that energy relations with Russia are not only economic, but also strategic, which is deeply involved with India’s long -term national interest.
