The US has doubled tariffs on many Indian imports to 50%, after the Trump administration deemed it a "penalty" for New Delhi's purchase of discounted Russian crude oil, which is then refined and resold for profit.

In a recent interview, former White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of funding Russia's "war machine" through these oil purchases.

While India primarily imports crude oil for domestic use, its refineries also export a considerable volume of refined products. An NPR analysis published on 7/9/2024 revealed the US as a major importer of these products.

Pipelines at the Deendayal Port in Gujarat, India, in 9/2024. Photo: Reuters

Pipelines at the Deendayal Port in Gujarat, India, in 9/2024. Photo: Reuters

According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a Finnish policy advisory organization, the US purchased an estimated USD 1.4 billion worth of oil products from India between January and July.

CREA's data indicates that over 90% of these Indian oil products imported by the US originate from Reliance Industries, a refinery owned by Asia's richest individual, Mukesh Ambani. This refinery processes nearly half of India's Russian crude oil imports.

CREA researcher Isaac Levi concluded that this effectively means the US is purchasing fuel produced from Russian crude. Levi noted that while the European Union (EU) recently banned seaborne imports of crude oil and petroleum products from Russia, the US has not implemented a similar measure.

"The US must take this step if they want to stop transferring hundreds of millions of USD into Russia's budget annually," Levi stated.

The NPR analysis concluded that both allies and rivals of the US import these refined Russian oil products, but none face the same high punitive tariffs as India. Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman affirmed India's commitment to continuing Russian oil purchases due to economic benefits, despite the 50% US import tariffs.

Ngoc Anh (NPR, CNBC, Reuters)