President Trump has slapped India with an additional 25% tariff for buying Russian oil, but India claims it has stabilized global oil prices and that other countries, including the EU, are still trading with Russia.
The Indian government has protested and pointed out that the EU bought 16.5 million tonnes of LNG from Russia in 2024, while the U.S. continues to import uranium hexafluoride for the nuclear power industry, palladium, fertilizers, and chemicals.
India also claims it has stabilized global oil prices. As one of the major users of oil, if it were to stop using Russian crude, global prices could rise from the current $67/barrel to an estimated $80/barrel or higher, according to estimates from leading oil market analysts. Before the start of the Ukraine war in 2022, just 0.2% of Indian supplies came from Russia. It had risen to up to 45% earlier in 2025, although in recent months it has slipped back to about.
Much of the refined product made in India is then exported to buyers in Europe, indirectly funding Russia’s war in Ukraine.
