Russia Remains India's Top Crude Oil Supplier With $3.6 Billion Sale In July Despite US Tariffs
India sourced 31.4% of its crude requirement from Russia that month, as per the latest available government data.
Unfazed by US pressure, Russia remained India's largest supplier of crude oil in July, selling energy worth $3.6 billion or Rs 31,775 crore. India sourced 31.4% of its crude requirement from Russia that month, as per the latest available government data.
Iraq was the second-largest supplier with a share of 17.1%, followed by Saudi Arabia (16.1%), and the United Arab Emirates (11.8%).
The Trump administration started levying an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods from Aug. 27 for buying Russian oil, taking the total tariff rate to 50%. New Delhi has slammed the tariff, terming it "unjustified" and calling out the double standards of Western powers themselves dealing commercially with Moscow.
Notably, India sourced 8.9% of its crude supplies from the US in July. Energy purchases have grown rapidly in recent years as New Delhi sought to assuage President Donald Trump's grievances over a large American trade deficit.
Russia's share in India's crude oil basket also significantly rose from just about 2% before the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022. Indian refiners have gobbled up discounted Russian crude shunned by the US and Europe.
Imports are likely to stay at current levels, Evgeny Griva, the deputy trade representative of Russia in India, said last month. Russia sells oil to India at about a 5% discount, leaving Asia’s third-largest economy with few alternatives, Griva said.
Washington has amped up pressure on India to stop these oil purchases, alleging that the proceeds have fueled Russia's war in Ukraine.
Peter Navarro, a senior White House official and aide to Trump, has been ranting against India on US media. He accused the country and its elites of being an “oil money laundromat" for Russia.
“India’s big oil lobby has turned the largest democracy in the world into a massive refining hub and oil money laundromat for the Kremlin,” Navarro, the senior counsellor for trade and manufacturing, told Fox News on Monday.
