Want affordable oil: India on 500% tariff threat by US

New Delhi on Friday took note of the proposed US legislation that could impose punitive tariffs of up to 500 per cent on countries buying Russian oil -- a bipartisan Bill recently backed by President Trump. India said it was “closely following” the developments. “We are aware of the proposed Bill,” Jaiswal said.

Reiterating India’s position, the MEA stressed that energy sourcing decisions were driven by market realities and domestic imperatives, not geopolitical alignments. “We are guided by the evolving dynamics of the global market and by the imperative to secure affordable energy from diverse sources to meet the energy security needs of our 1.4 billion people,” he said.

India has consistently rejected attempts to link its energy imports to geopolitical pressure, maintaining that affordable and reliable energy supply is a sovereign priority. The rebuttal underscores New Delhi’s intent to defend both its credibility as a negotiating partner and its strategic autonomy as trade, energy and geopolitics increasingly intersect.