India’s Modi caught between much-needed Russian oil and US trade threats

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India’s Modi caught between much-needed Russian oil and US trade threats

Cutting Russian oil imports could avoid price rises ahead of key polls but keeping such purchases could cripple access to its largest market

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Cutting Russian oil imports to avoid potential new US tariffs could increase fuel prices ahead of key regional elections, or stress government finances. Maintaining such purchases could cripple Indian exports to its largest market.

India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and among the biggest buyers of Russian crude, reacted unusually strongly on Thursday to a US congressional bill that would allow Washington to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on countries, including India and China, for major purchases of Russian oil.

The sharp response showed how an energy trade that has delivered India billions of dollars in savings since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 is now colliding with its broader strategic and commercial interests.

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