Trump rescinds punitive tariff on India over purchases of Russian oil

India is gradually scaling back its Russian oil purchases

Photo: Reuters

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday rescinding a punitive 25 percent duty on all imports from India over its purchases of Russian oil, the White House said.

Trump on Monday announced a trade deal with India that slashed US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 percent from 50 percent in exchange for India halting Russian oil purchases and lowering trade barriers.

India relies heavily on oil imports, covering around 90 percent of its needs, and importing cheaper Russian oil has helped lower its import costs since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022 and Western nations enacted sanctions on its energy exports.

Recently India has begun to slow its purchases from Russia. In January, they were around 1.2 million barrels per day, and are projected to decline to about 1 million bpd in February and 800,000 bpd in March, according to a Reuters report.