New Delhi [India], January 5 (ANI): As the United States steps up stress on nations shopping for Russian oil, India faces a vital coverage selection, with continued ambiguity prone to invite larger commerce prices, based on a report by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).
On January 4, US President Donald Trump warned that Washington might elevate tariffs on Indian imports if New Delhi doesn’t cease buying Russian crude. The warning comes whilst Indian exports to the US are already topic to a 50 per cent import tariff, half of which is immediately linked to India’s Russian oil purchases, the report famous.
The stress is being bolstered within the US Congress, the place Senator Lindsey Graham is pushing laws to impose secondary tariffs on nations shopping for Russian oil and fuel if Moscow fails to conform to a ceasefire in Ukraine inside 50 days.
Following US sanctions imposed in October on Russian power giants Rosneft and Lukoil, main Indian refiners, together with Reliance Industries and a number of other state-owned companies, introduced a halt to Russian oil purchases to keep away from secondary sanctions. However, imports haven’t stopped solely, with decrease volumes persevering with from non-sanctioned suppliers, inserting India in what the report described as a ‘strategic gray zone.’
GTRI stated this ambiguity is weakening India’s place. ‘If India plans to cease Russian oil imports, it ought to accomplish that clearly and decisively. If it intends to proceed shopping for from non-sanctioned suppliers, it should say so brazenly and help the stance with information,’ the report stated, including that continued lack of readability is now not viable.
The report additionally cautioned that ending Russian oil imports might not assure reduction from US stress, as commerce calls for might shift to different areas similar to agriculture, dairy, digital commerce and information governance.
India should additionally take into account that the present tariff stress is linked to a particular political section in Washington, which can not final indefinitely, GTRI stated. While the European Union, Japan and South Korea selected to chop Russian oil imports to ease tensions with the US, China, the most important purchaser of Russian crude, has confronted little stress attributable to its strategic leverage.
Indian exports to the US have already declined by 20.7 per cent between May and November 2025, and any additional tariff escalation might deepen the slowdown, the report warned.
‘As the tariff menace hardens, India should take a clear name on Russian oil, personal that call, and talk it unambiguously to Washington,’ GTRI stated. (ANI)