Trump promises to "leave" huge tariffs for India if it does not stop importing Russian oil

India will continue to pay "huge" duties on its exports to the United States until it stops buying Russian oil. This was stated by US President Donald Trump during a conversation with journalists on board Air Force One.

"I talked to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and he said he's not going to deal with Russian oil," Trump said.

When a journalist pointed out that the Indian authorities did not confirm the fact of such a conversation, Trump replied: "If they want to deny it, then they'll just keep paying huge duties, and they don't want to do that.".

According to Reuters, Russian oil was one of the main catalysts for Trump to increase tariffs on India, and half of his 50% tariffs on Indian goods are in retaliation for Russian oil purchases.

India has become the largest buyer of Russian oil sold by sea at a discount after Western countries refused to buy and imposed sanctions on Moscow for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

India's imports of Russian oil are expected to rise by about 20% this month to 1.9 million barrels per day, as Russia boosts exports after Ukrainian drones hit its refineries, according to commodities analyst Kpler.

• on October 16, Trump said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised him to stop buying oil from Russia.
• On October 17, two Indian refiners bought 4 million barrels of crude oil from Guyana from the US company Exxon Mobil for delivery in late 2025 and early 2026. For India, buying oil from South America is a rarity.