50% US tariffs: Indian refiners look to cut back on Russian crude imports; Trump claims India to stop buying oil from Moscow

India is looking to reduce its Russian oil imports with refiners planning a gradual reduction, according to a Reuters report quoting sources. Russia continues to be India’s largest crude oil supplier. The Donald Trump administration has imposed 50% tariffs on India, 25% of which are for the latter’s crude oil procurement from Russia.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given assurance that India would discontinue purchasing oil from Russia.


Also read: ‘We do not interfere in…’: Moscow reacts to Trump’s claim on PM Modi stopping Russian oil trade; says ‘our supplies very beneficial for Indian economy’"So I was not happy that India was buying oil, and he (Modi) assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia," Trump informed reporters at a White House gathering on Wednesday.

Sources told Reuters that Indian refiners have not received any official directive from the government regarding stopping Russian oil imports.

The sources quoted in the report indicated that an immediate halt to Russian oil purchases would be problematic, as transitioning to alternative crude sources would result in increased global oil prices and potentially trigger inflation concerns.

During April to September, India's Russian crude imports averaged 1.75 million barrels per day, representing approximately 36% of total oil imports, down from 40% in the corresponding period last year, according to government statistics.

Imports of US crude increased by 6.8% year-on-year to roughly 213,000 bpd, constituting 4.3% of total imports.

Also read: 'Priority is to safeguard interests of consumers': India reacts to Trump's claim on Russian oil; cites 'twin goals'
For the six-month period ending September 2025, Middle Eastern oil's proportion increased to 45% from 42%, as revealed by the data.

Following Trump’s claim, India issued a statement on Thursday emphasising its two primary objectives: maintaining stable energy prices and ensuring supply security.

"It has been our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario. Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Indian officials are currently conducting trade negotiations in Washington, whilst the US has increased tariffs on Indian goods by twofold to encourage New Delhi to decrease Russian oil imports. US negotiators have indicated that reducing these purchases would be essential for lowering India's tariff rate and concluding a trade agreement, the Reuters report said.

India and China have emerged as the leading purchasers of Russian seaborne crude exports, benefiting from reduced prices that Russia has had to offer following European buyers' withdrawal and sanctions imposed by the US and EU after the Russia-Ukraine war that started in February 2022.

Meanwhile India has indicated that it is exploring enhanced energy collaboration with the United States.

"The current Administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India. Discussions are ongoing," said foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in the statement.