By Rajwa Quasim
A senior White House official has voiced confidence that the tariff dispute between Washington and New Delhi over India’s purchase of Russian oil will be resolved as President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a “very good ties.”
White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro said, “The president and your prime minister have a very good working relationship. They are going to work that out amongst themselves, and it’s not for me to get between.” Fresh debate over New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil surfaced after the U.S. Senate approved legislation that could give Trump administration the authority to impose tariffs up to 100% on imports from major buyers of Russian oil and gas.
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The Senate’s Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act 2026 passed in senate with a majority of 86-11 and would give Trump to impose duties on the world’s top five buyers of Russian crude.
Navarro earlier wrote an op-ed in which he criticized New Delhi of purchasing the Russian oil and thereby contributing to the rampaged war against Ukraine. He said, “Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, India was not involved in the oil trade with Russia, but afterwards it got heavily involved and was selling a lot of refined products on behalf of Russia, which helped feed the war machine.”
The U.S. official said the issue has since been resolved and claimed credit for weaning India off the oil trade with Russia. Navarro said, “Maybe I had a little bit to do with that with that op-ed, but I can tell you, I got actually firebombed by the Indian continent on the internet. All I would say to you, don’t do that.” He had previously described India as a “Maharaja of Tariffs.”
New Delhi has defended its energy import policy, saying its oil purchases are driven by market conditions and the country’s energy requirements. According to the official Indian government data, Russia’s share in India’s oil imports rose above 40% in May, the highest in nearly two years. India purchased 8.7 million metric tonnes of Russian crude in June, a 25% higher than the same month last year. The availability of discounted Russian oil helped Indian refiners lower input costs and maintain supply when global energy market disrupted. It is worth noting that India is now diversifying its oil source, including importing from countries like Iran and Venezuela.
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For India, challenge lies in balancing the diplomatic relation with U.S. and Russia. India and U.S. are part of multilateral groups including QUAD (India, U.S., Australia, Japan), I2U2 (India, Israel, U.S., UAE). Meanwhile, India and Russia are part of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
The future depends on how the Trump administration will use the approved legislation and whether Washington and New Delhi can reach an understanding on India’s purchase of Russian oil.