Oil imports decisions should be guided by economic interests, energy security, not tariff threats: GTRI
At a time when threat of additional tariffs looms in front of India for buying Russian oil, the think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has suggested that decisions on crude oil imports should be guided by India's economic interests, energy security and strategic autonomy, rather than the threat of additional US tariffs. Recently, the US Senate voted to advance a Russia sanctions bill that could authorise US President Donald Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries buying Russian oil, including India.
With US steadily expanding its use of trade and economic measures to pursue strategic objectives, GTRI has suggested that India should continue sourcing Russian crude as long as its commercially viable, while managing differences with Washington through dialogue and negotiation.
Highlighting the impact of Russia sanctions bill, it noted that India could face greater pressure under the proposed legislation despite China being the world's largest buyer of Russian crude oil. It pointed that Russia is India's largest oil supplier and access to discounted Russian crude has significantly lowered the country’s import bill, supported energy security, and helped contain inflation. In FY26, Russia supplied 30.3% of India's crude oil imports worth $40.8 billion out of total crude imports of $134.7 billion.
