New Delhi has reached out to key US legislators to voice concerns over a Congress proposal to impose punitive tariffs on countries buying Russian oil which, if passed, would significantly impact India's substantial imports.
India imported 2 million barrels per day of Russian oil, or 44% of the country's overall crude oil imports in June, according to Indian officials and ship-tracking data.
Senior Indian industry officials told Energy Intelligence that the proposed new US sanctions bill may be a vehicle to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table over Ukraine. Regardless, eliminating around 4 million b/d of Russian oil from the market would lead to a jump in oil prices and higher inflation, something that goes against US President Donald Trump’s electoral promises, they argued.
If passed, the bill's crippling measures would involve “secondary sanctions,” specifically a 500% tariff on countries buying Russian energy, targeting China, Turkey and India.
India bought around $50 billion of Russian crude in the fiscal year 2024/25 ending Mar. 31, according to Indian customs data.
