Unafraid of Trump's Tariff Pressure, India to Continue Purchasing Russian Oil

According to a report by The New York Times on Saturday (August 2), Indian officials revealed that despite U.S. President Trump's threat to punish India, the Indian government will continue to purchase cheap oil from Russia.

Previously, President Trump announced on August 1st that he would impose a 25% tariff on Indian exports, accompanied by an "additional penalty." He directly linked this move to India's high tariffs on American goods and what he called "annoying" non-monetary trade barriers.

However, the deeper reason lies in Trump explicitly linking these tariffs to India's deepening strategic relationship with Russia, especially its large-scale oil purchases and military imports. This indicates that the United States is trying to influence or even force its major economic partners to change their geopolitical choices through economic means, aiming to isolate Russia.

American and its allies believe that these oil transactions with Russia are tacit support for Moscow's economy and weaken international efforts to stop the Ukraine conflict.

On Friday, Trump told reporters that he heard India would no longer buy oil from Russia, "I don't know if it's correct. It's a good move. We'll see."

However, The New York Times reported that according to two senior Indian officials, the Modi government has not changed its policy. One official also said that the government "has not instructed oil companies" to reduce imports from Russia.

In addition, the White House, the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Indian Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas have not responded to Reuters' request for comments on the relevant news.

On Wednesday, July 30th, Trump said on Truth Social: "Although India is our friend, we have had relatively little trade with them over the years because their tariffs are too high, ranking among the highest in the world, and their non-monetary trade barriers are the strictest and most annoying in all countries."

Trump signed an executive order on July 31st, imposing a 25% tariff on Indian products, which is one percentage point less than the 26% announced on April 2nd.

Deep Roots of India-Russia Relations

The India-Russia relationship has deep historical roots, dating back to the 1950s when the Soviet Union provided India with a UN veto on the Kashmir issue and provided aid multiple times during the Cold War. Indian Foreign Minister Sujan Singh once described the bilateral relationship as "an unchanging constant in world politics."

Beyond oil, the relationship covers other key areas. India is the largest importer of Russian weapons, with more than 50% of its military equipment made in Russia. Additionally, the Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom continues to advance the agreement to build six nuclear reactors in India.

High-level interactions between the two countries are frequent. Over the past decade, Indian Prime Minister Modi has met with Russian President Putin 17 times, including two visits to Russia within the past year. This deep mutual dependence in strategic areas such as energy, military, nuclear power, and high-level diplomacy forms a solid foundation that cannot be easily dismantled by a single economic lever like tariffs. This means that the United States' "additional penalties" may not be sufficient to fundamentally change India's strategic considerations, as cutting these ties would be a huge cost for India.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1839394375121930/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.