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While commenting on US President Donald Trump's secondary tariff threat against India, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that India diversified its sources of buying oil and is not facing pressure over Trump's new threat. The remarks from Puri came when Firstpost's Managing Editor, Palki Sharma, asked him about Trump's secondary sanctions threat and the kind of impact it can have on the Indian oil industry.
On Tuesday, Trump announced a whopping 100 per cent tariffs on Russian exports, including oil, expressing his displeasure with Russian President Vladimir Putin's reluctance to negotiate a peace deal. Apart from this, Trump also introduced equivalent secondary tariffs on countries importing Russian shipments, with India being one of them.
Trump warned that the tariffs would be imposed after a 50-day deadline for Moscow to end the war against Ukraine. When asked about the secondary tariff warning, Puri said at the Thursday event that right now he does not have "any pressure" in his mind.
India is one of the biggest consumers of Russian oil
Since February 2022, Indian refiners have been lapping up Russian oil at discounted rates while the West has shunned Russia by imposing sanctions. Russia currently accounts for a third of India’s oil imports, compared to less than 1 per cent before the war.
Hence, if Trump carries through with his threats, India might take a significant hit. According to reports floated by Western media, a secondary tariff will apply to the country and affect all merchandise exports, unlike in the case where only the entities doing business with sanctioned Russian entities are penalised.
If something like this happens, Indian refiners will have no other option but to pivot towards West Asian suppliers and new suppliers such as Brazil to make up for the lost supply. However, these barrels will come at a higher cost. In light of this, the government had already approached two major West Asian oil producers to examine additional supplies.
