US panel to monitor India's oil import from Russia, says Trump's executive order

New Delhi: US President Donald Trump, while revoking the 25% additional tariff on India on Saturday, said a US government panel will monitor whether India resumes import of Russian oil, with the tariff liable to be reimposed if such purchases restart.

In an executive order, Trump said that India has committed to stopping directly or indirectly importing Russian oil and will purchase energy products from the US.

"The Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and any other senior official the Secretary of Commerce deems appropriate, shall monitor whether India resumes directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil, as defined in section 7 of Executive Order 14329," the order said.

If the panel finds India resumed importing Russian oil directly or indirectly, "the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the United States Trade Representative, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, and the Assistant to the President and Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing, shall recommend whether and to what extent I should take additional action as to India, including whether I should reimpose the additional ad valorem rate of duty of 25 percent on imports of articles of India," the order said.

Queries mailed to the ministries of petroleum and natural gas and external affairs on Satuday afternoon regarding the US panel monitoring India's oil imports from Russia were not immediately answered.

The development is significant as Russia has been India’s largest crude oil supplier since FY23, offering discounted oil compared with other major exporters. In FY25, Russian crude accounted for about 35% of India’s total oil imports.

Although imports from Russia have declined in the past few months post the high tariffs and US sanctions on two top Russian oil suppliers Rosneft and LUKOIL, Russia still remains the largest crude oil source for Indian refineries.

According to trade data provider Kpler, Russia supplied 1.16 million barrels per day of oil in January.

US energy

India is set to increase its energy imports, including coking coal, from the US, as the two countries agree on an interim trade agreement framework.

The joint statement released early Saturday also said India intends to purchase $500 billion worth of products from the US over the next five years, which includes energy products and coking coal.

The statement, however, did not give further details on the energy products to be imported by India. India has been making efforts to increase the import of crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the world's largest economy in the past couple of years.

One of the key components of the energy basket which India is looking to increase supplies from the US is crude oil, as both countries last year committed to increasing the bilateral energy trade to $20 billion.

In January, India imported around 297,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the US, compared to 293,000 bpd a year ago. It reached a high of 568,000 bpd in November.

Amid India's oil import diversification efforts, oil from the US is emerging as the primary beneficiary, potentially accounting for up to 10% of India’s crude intake, largely displacing lighter West African grades rather than Russian supply.