India Resists US Pressure to Ditch Russian Oil Amid Tariff Threat
India is unlikely to abandon its imports of Russian oil despite the threat of US tariffs of up to 100% on Indian goods, according to analysts. India is the second-largest importer of Russian crude oil after China, with supplies from Russia accounting for nearly half of all of India's crude oil purchases in recent months.
The US government has granted itself the authority to impose trade tariffs of up to 100% on countries that import large volumes of Russian oil and natural gas under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026.
Prerna Gandhi, an associate fellow at the Vivekananda International Foundation, believes that rapidly replacing Russian oil would increase India's import costs and could accelerate domestic inflation due to supply and shipping disruptions in the Middle East and high Brent prices above $100 per barrel.