‘Unacceptable’: US says India is profiteering on Russian oil purchases
Photo: The US said that India is profiteering on Russian oil purchases (Getty Images)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that India has sharply increased purchases of Russian oil during the war in Ukraine and is profiting from reselling it. Washington considers this situation unacceptable, Reuters reports.
According to him, Russian oil now makes up 42% of India’s imports, compared to less than 1% before the war. For comparison, China, a long-time buyer, has raised its share from 13% to 16%.
“India is just profiteering. They are reselling. What I would call Indian arbitrage - buying cheap Russian oil, reselling it as product has just sprung up during the war - which is unacceptable,” US Treasury Secretary emphasized.
US tariffs on India over Russian oil purchases
This month, US President Donald Trump announced an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods due to its purchases of Russian oil. In total, since Trump returned to office, the volume of extra tariffs has risen to 50%.
Trump believes such measures are meant to increase pressure on Russian leader Vladimir Putin to agree to negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
Earlier, Deputy Chief of Staff to the US President Stephen Miller stated that India is financing Russia’s war against Ukraine.
India later responded to the additional 25% US tariffs with explanations as to why it is allegedly forced to buy Russian oil.
