India is racing to stockpile Russian oil before US sanctions on Moscow’s biggest oil firms take effect tomorrow.
New Delhi has been buying Russian crude at steep discounts since the Kremlin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, taking advantage of reduced demand thanks to EU restrictions, and Moscow’s desperation for foreign currency.
But the intake has caused friction between Delhi and Washington, and in August US President Donald Trump imposed punishing 50% tariffs on India. That did little to reduce India’s purchases, but a more recent approach, penalizing companies that bought from Russian oil majors, was more effective: India’s oil refiners are expected to fall in line, although a Carnegie Politika analysis noted that they could “resume purchases when Trump’s attention wanders.”
