India Stands Up to Donald Trump. Tariff Threat Doesn't Change Their Mind

Despite sanctions threats from Donald Trump, India will continue to import Russian crude oil. This information was reported by American media, citing Indian officials. The government in New Delhi reportedly has not issued any orders to companies to limit their purchases of this raw material from the Kremlin.

On Saturday, two senior Indian officials said the country's oil purchasing policy had not changed. One of them clarified that the government had " not issued any instructions to oil companies " to limit imports from Russia, the New York Times reported.

Donald Trump previously said that as part of the latest round of tariffs, he would impose an unspecified additional penalty on India if it does not halt imports of Russian crude oil. "My understanding is that India will no longer buy crude oil from Russia . That's what I heard. I don't know if it's true or not. It's a good step. We'll see what happens," the US president said.

Some officials and analysts say Trump's focus on India buying Russian oil could be a negotiating tactic as India and the United States seek to finalize the initial stages of a bilateral trade agreement. China and Turkey, two other major importers of Russian oil, have not faced similar threats from Washington, the NYT noted.

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India has significantly increased its purchases of Russian oil since the beginning of the aggression in Ukraine in 2022. Russia now supplies more than one-third of India's oil imports, compared to less than one percent before the war. India is the second-largest importer of Russian oil after China.