US President Donald Trump is continuously pressuring India to stop importing crude oil from Russia. He has even imposed a 50 percent tariff on India to increase this pressure.
Even after imposing the tariff, Trump is unstoppable and is using every tactic to stop India. The situation has reached such a point that Trump is now publicly lying about India’s purchase of Russian oil. Sometimes he calls India the villain of the Russia-Ukraine war, and sometimes he is raising taxes. Amidst all this, a question constantly arises: what is Trump’s problem ? Why is he uneasy about India buying oil from anyone ? Why does Trump want to control India and China’s oil purchases ? The answers to all these questions are money, profit, income, and business.
More than a businessman
Donald Trump is acting more like a businessman than a US President. A businessman who wants to secure his deal by hook or by crook. Trump, who believes in the policy of “intensifying pressure if things don’t work out,” is pressuring India and China to purchase oil from Russia. He imposed a 25 percent tax on India because of this oil.
However, Trump’s pressure tactics failed to work, and India continued to purchase oil from Russia. Data shows that India imported more than 4.5 million barrels per day of crude oil in September, with Russian oil accounting for 1.6 million bpd. According to data from the Clean Air Research Center, India was the largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in September, after China. In September, India purchased a total of 2.5 billion euros worth of crude oil from Russia. Now the question is: why is Trump pursuing Russian oil?
The real reason for indifference to Russian Oil ?
Donald Trump may be claiming that China and India are fueling the Russia-Ukraine war by purchasing oil from Russia, but the reality is quite different. Trump wants India to distance itself from Russia and develop trade with the United States. He wants India to increase its oil and gas purchases from America instead of Russia.
Data shows that India previously purchased approximately $25 billion worth of oil and gas from the United States, but now its purchases have declined to $12-13 billion. In September, India’s exports to the United States declined by 12%. There is concern about a decline in oil exports between India and the United States. There is potential for approximately $12-15 billion worth of oil and energy purchases from the United States, which Trump is emphasizing. He wants India to prioritize oil purchases from him rather than Russia.
India may increase oil purchases from the US.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Aggarwal also stated that India could increase energy purchases from the US by approximately $12-15 billion. India wants to diversify its import portfolio. India can purchase oil from the US without worrying about the size of its refineries, but the condition is that the US maintains reasonable prices. Trump is trying to exert pressure to divert Indian trade from Russia.
