New US tariffs against India over Kremlin dealings in effect

New US tariffs on imports from India due to its oil trade with Russia have come into effect. As of Wednesday, the United States is imposing an additional tariff of 25 percent on products from the South Asian country, according to a document in the US Federal Register. Former US President Donald Trump ordered the move in early August. This doubles the tariff rate imposed on India under Trump's administration to 50 percent.

Trump intends to further weaken the Kremlin's economic base with the new tariffs. In June, India was the second largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels after China. Russia has been waging an aggressive war against Ukraine for more than three years and keeps its war machinery running primarily by selling its raw materials, especially fossil fuels such as oil and gas.

Russia continues to supply oil to India

According to Moscow, Trump's announcement of the tariffs has so far missed its target. "We continue to supply fuel (to India), including crude oil and oil products, thermal coal and coking coal," Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said recently at a joint Russian-Indian government meeting. He also saw potential in expanding the export of liquefied natural gas, he added.

Just last week, India's Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Moscow and was received at the Kremlin by President Vladimir Putin. While there are media reports that India wants to reduce Russian oil supplies, Delhi has officially emphasised several times that it will continue to source its raw materials from wherever it is cheapest. Russia has to sell its oil at a discount, partly due to Western sanctions.

India: an important trading partner for the US

Last year, India was one of the United States' most important trading partners. Among the most exported goods from the US to India were oil and gas.