India calls out EU and U.S.’ commerce with Russia after Trump threatens steeper tariffs

India stated it was being “focused” by the U.S. and the European Union over its imports of Russian oil after U.S. President Donald Trump in an in a single day social media put up threatened New Delhi with a lot steeper tariffs.

India started importing oil from Russia solely after “conventional provides” have been diverted to Europe following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, the nation’s international ministry stated in an announcement late Monday.

The ministry referred to as out the EU and the U.S. saying, “it’s revealing that the very nations criticizing India are themselves indulging in commerce with Russia. In contrast to our case, such commerce shouldn’t be even a significant nationwide compulsion [for them].”

The EU’s bilateral commerce with Russia stood at 67.5 billion euros ($78.1 billion) in 2024, whereas its companies commerce in 2023 was at 17.2 billion euros, in keeping with European Fee knowledge. Citing these numbers, India stated the bloc’s commerce was “considerably extra” than India’s whole commerce with Russia.

Information from the Indian embassy in Moscow confirmed bilateral commerce between New Delhi and Moscow reached a document $68.7 billion for the yr ended March 2025, almost 5.8 instances increased than the pre-pandemic commerce of $10.1 billion.

The EU, in the meantime, was Russia’s third-biggest commerce associate in 2024, accounting for 38.4% of the nation’s whole international commerce in items, sliding from being Moscow’s high associate in 2020. EU’s items commerce with Russia dropped almost 74% in 2024 from 257.5 billion euros in 2021.

India’s response comes after Trump threatened on Monday that he could be “considerably elevating” the tariffs on India, though he didn’t specify the extent of the upper tariffs. The U.S. president had threatened a 25% obligation on Indian exports, in addition to an unspecified “penalty” final week.

He additionally accused India of shopping for discounted Russian oil and “promoting it on the Open Marketplace for massive income.”

Russia grew to become the main oil provider to India because the conflict in Ukraine started, growing imports from just below 100,000 barrels per day earlier than the invasion, or a 2.5% of its whole imports, to greater than 1.8 million barrels per day in 2023, or 39%, in keeping with the U.S. Power Data Administration’s report earlier this yr.

“The US at the moment actively inspired such imports by India for strengthening international vitality markets stability,” the nation stated in its assertion.

Eric Garcetti, when he was the U.S. ambassador to India, stated final yr at a convention that India bought Russian oil as “we needed anyone to purchase Russian oil.”

In keeping with the Worldwide Power Company, 70% of Russian crude was exported to India in 2024. India stated oil imports have been meant to make sure predictable and inexpensive vitality prices to the Indian client.

India has up to now defended its oil purchases from Russia, with Hardeep Singh Puri, the nation’s vitality minister, saying in an interview final month with CNBC that New Delhi helped stabilize international vitality costs and was inspired by the U.S. to take action.

“If folks or international locations had stopped shopping for at that stage, the value of oil would have gone as much as 130 {dollars} a barrel. That was a scenario during which we have been suggested, together with by our associates in the US, to please purchase Russian oil, however inside the value cap,” Puri stated.

India additionally took purpose on the U.S., saying the nation continues to import uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear trade, palladium for the electric-vehicle trade, in addition to fertilizers and chemical substances from Russia.

U.S. bilateral commerce with Russia in 2024 stood at $5.2 billion, in contrast with almost $36 billion in 2021, authorities knowledge confirmed. The U.S. has not imposed any “reciprocal tariffs” on Russia.

“On this background, the concentrating on of India is unjustified and unreasonable. Like every main economic system, India will take all needed measures to safeguard its nationwide pursuits and financial safety,” New Delhi stated.

Chatting with CNBC’s “Squawk Field Asia,” Rachel Ziemba, adjunct senior fellow on the Heart for a New American Safety, stated that a few of India’s considerations have been justified. “It was the final U.S. administration that put in place the value cap system, which facilitated the redirection of commerce.”

Ziemba additionally stated India is caught in a “crossfire” of adverse commerce talks.