NEW DELHI: The United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent today hinted at the removal of the additional 25% tariffs imposed on India, citing a drastic drop in India’s purchases of Russian oil following the tariff hike by US President Donald Trump. His remarks came during his visit to Davos, amid shifting geopolitical dynamics around US tariffs, Indian oil purchases from Russia, and EU trade deals.
He said, “We put a 25 per cent tariff on India for buying Russian oil, and the Indian purchases by their refineries of Russian oil have collapsed. So that is a success.”
While clarifying that tariffs are still on, he insisted that “there is a path to take them off, so that’s a check and a huge success.”
Bessent’s statement also holds great significance as there are ongoing discussions in the US Congress on a proposed legislation to impose an additional 500% duty on countries buying oil from Russia.
However, India has consistently stated that its purchases are decided based on the requirement of affordable energy by its population.
In response to questions about the proposed legislation in the US, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that India is closely following the developments related to the proposed bill.
A few days back, the US Senator Lindsey Graham had confirmed that Trump has approved the Russia Sanctions Bill, which would give leverage against multiple countries, including India, to restrict them from buying oil from Russia and punish the countries “fuelling Putin’s war machine”.
Bessent also criticised European countries for purchasing refined oil from India, which it makes from Russian crude. He accused Europe of indirectly financing Russia’s war effort, labelling their trade behaviour an “act of irony and stupidity.”
He explained, “Before the Ukraine invasion, approximately 2-3 per cent of Indian oil that went into its refineries came from Russia. The oil was sanctioned. It got deeply discounted and moved up into the high teens- 7, 18, 19% was being refined. Huge pro, huge profits from the refiners. But in the ultimate act of irony and stupidity, guess who was buying the refined products from the Indian refineries made from Russian oil? The Europeans. They are financing the war against themselves. They are financing the Russian.”
Agencies