US Hits India with 25% Tariff Over Russian Oil Imports Amid Ukraine War
The United States, under former President Donald Trump’s direction, has imposed a 25% additional tariff on Indian imports from Russia. The US claims that India’s growing purchases of Russian oil are helping fund Russia’s war in Ukraine. This move places India in the highest bracket of countries facing US tariffs so far.
Historic Ties and Recent Tensions
India and Russia have long been strategic partners, dating back to the Cold War. Russia remains a key supplier of military equipment to India. However, recent tensions have focused on India’s increased imports of Russian crude oil, especially since the Ukraine conflict began. On July 30, Trump criticized India on his Truth Social platform, calling India “Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY,” alongside China, at a time when much of the world demands an end to the violence in Ukraine.
Who Benefits Most? India’s Wealthiest
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent highlighted that some of India’s wealthiest families have gained the most from these Russian oil imports. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), headed by Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, is the largest importer of Russian crude oil in India.
In 2021, Russian crude made up only 3% of the total crude imported by RIL’s Jamnagar refinery. But since the war began, that number has surged to an average of 50% in 2025, according to data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), based in Finland.
The Numbers Behind the Oil Trade
Between January and July 2025, RIL’s Jamnagar refinery imported 18.3 million tonnes of Russian crude oil, a 64% increase from the previous year, valued at $8.7 billion. This is just 12% less than the total Russian oil imported by the refinery in all of 2024.
This spike is partly due to the $60 price cap on Russian oil products introduced on February 5, 2023. The goal was to limit Russia’s oil revenues while keeping global supply steady. However, the price cap’s effectiveness has been limited due to weak enforcement and the use of a “shadow fleet” of ships that help Russia evade monitoring and sell oil at prices higher than the cap.
Shadow Fleet Keeps Trade Flowing
In early 2025, about 83% of Russian crude was transported using these shadow ships, according to CREA data. By June, that number dropped to 59%, but it still represents a significant workaround allowing Russian oil exports to continue despite sanctions.
Exports From Jamnagar: Who’s Buying?
CREA’s research reveals that from February 2023 to July 2025, the Jamnagar refinery exported $85.9 billion worth of refined oil products worldwide. Nearly 42% ($36 billion) of these exports went to countries that have sanctioned Russia.
The European Union received about $19.7 billion in exports from Jamnagar, while the US imported $6.3 billion worth of refined products — roughly $2.3 billion of which came from Russian crude oil. In terms of volume, the US is the largest importer of products from Jamnagar since the price cap took effect, with 8.4 million tonnes imported by July 2025.
In 2025 alone, US imports from the refinery rose by 14% year-on-year to $1.4 billion, making the US the third-largest country importer by value.
What Does the US Import?
Most of the oil products exported to the US are blending components (64%), followed by petrol (14%) and fuel oils (13%).
Other Major Players: Nayara Energy
Following Reliance, Nayara Energy — a refinery majority-owned by Russian firms including the state-owned Rosneft — is another major importer of Russian crude. Its Vadinar refinery, India’s second-largest private refinery, imported on average 66% of its crude from Russia in 2025.