India 'stopped' buying oil from Russia, claims US Treasury Secretary

Davos: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has claimed that India has "stopped" buying oil from Russia after US President Donald Trump imposed a 25 per cent tariff on countries purchasing oil from Moscow.

Trump has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India, including 25 per cent for its purchases of Russian oil. Speaking with Fox Business, Bessent said, “India started buying Russian oil after the (Ukraine) conflict began, but President Trump put a 25 per cent tariff on them, and India has geared down and has stopped buying Russian oil.” India had described the US action as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable" while maintaining that its energy policy is guided by its own national interest.

A bill introduced by Senator Lindsey Graham has proposed a 500 per cent tariff on secondary purchase and reselling of Russian oil. The proposal has near-unanimous backing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

While speaking on the bill, Bessent said that it is a proposal that Senator Graham has in front of the Senate and “we will see whether that passes. We don't believe that President Trump needs that authority, that he can do it under IEEPA, but that the Senate wants to give him that authority.” Bessent also accused Europe of buying Russian oil and funding Russia’s war against Ukraine.  “And just, just to be clear that we have Europe buying Russian oil, still, still, or four years later, they are financing the war against themselves,” Bessent added.

India fell to third place among buyers of Russian fossil fuels in December after Reliance Industries and state-owned refiners sharply cut crude oil imports, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

India, the world's third-largest oil importer, emerged as the biggest buyer of discounted Russian crude after Western countries shunned Moscow following its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.