Indian refineries have asked the government for clarification on further purchases of Russian oil following statements by the US President Donald Trump.
Bloomberg writes about this, citing sources.
According to the interlocutors, at least three refineries have requested an official position from the authorities, and two of them have temporarily stopped imports of Russian raw materials.
The question was raised by Trumpʼs statement that India had allegedly agreed to abandon Russian oil and increase purchases from the US. After that, the market began to react, and companies began to reconsider their plans.
India remains one of the largest buyers of Russian oil. Previously, the country imported up to 2 million barrels per day, but in January, volumes fell to about 1.2 million barrels.
About half of Russiaʼs oil goes to “Nayara Energy”, a company co-owned by Russiaʼs “Rosneft”. At the same time, Indiaʼs oil minister Hardeep Puri said that the countryʼs refineries are interested in increasing supplies from Canada and the United States.
On February 2, Donald Trump reported that after a conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India had allegedly agreed to stop buying Russian oil. Modi himself confirmed the conversation, but did not comment on the oil issue.
Trump also announced that he was reducing tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18% in exchange for India stopping purchases of Russian oil and lowering trade barriers.
In addition, the US president said that India has agreed to buy more American goods, increasing the volume of purchases to $500 billion, including energy, technology, etc., Reuters wrote.
- In late August, Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods, including penalties for buying Russian oil, which led to the suspension of trade talks. They were later revived, but the parties could not agree on Indiaʼs agricultural sector, to which the United States wanted access.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.