In charts: How India’s Russian oil imports shifted amid US tariff flip-flops
India's reliance on discounted Russian crude oil has risen again after a temporary dip, even as new US legislation threatens steep tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil.
The US Senate passed sanctions legislation (the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act) carrying a provision that allows tariffs of up to 100% on goods from the top five buyers of Russian crude oil and natural gas.
The legislation gives the US President discretion to apply the tariffs to named countries rather than imposing them automatically.
India, a negligible buyer of Russian crude before 2022, has become one of Russia's largest oil export markets, complicating its energy-security diversification efforts.
Legal Basis of US Tariff and Sanctions Authority
Sanctions or tariffs imposed through a Congressional statute are binding once signed into law and cannot be unilaterally reversed by the President, unlike measures imposed by executive order under laws such as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which the President can modify more easily. CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, 2017) is the precedent law under which the US has previously threatened secondary sanctions on countries transacting with sanctioned Russian entities — relevant to India's earlier S-400 missile system purchase.
Key Details
- The 2026 Senate-passed bill required presidential signature to take effect as law
- Secondary tariffs/sanctions penalise third countries for their trade with a sanctioned country (Russia here), as distinct from primary sanctions imposed directly on Russia
- The bill's tariff provision is discretionary (President "may" apply it to named top-five buyers), not mandatory
- US Senate vote on the underlying bill: 86-11; US House vote: 262-159
Because the tariff provision is discretionary rather than automatic, a 100% US tariff on Indian goods remains a contingent risk tied to a presidential decision rather than a certainty — an important distinction from a self-executing sanction.
India's Crude Oil Import Diversification and Energy Security Framework
India imports the large majority of its crude oil requirement, making supply diversification, price stability, and strategic reserves central to its energy-security policy.
Key Details
- Key instruments include Strategic Petroleum Reserves (underground storage facilities at Visakhapatnam, Mangalore, and Padur) and long-term supply contracts with Gulf suppliers, alongside opportunistic purchases of discounted crude
- Since Russia's discounted crude became available after Western sanctions in 2022, it has at various points overtaken Iraq and Saudi Arabia to become India's single largest source of crude imports
- India has maintained that its oil-purchase decisions are guided by energy security and market considerations
- Russia's share of India's crude imports fell below 25% between December 2025 and February 2026, after fresh US sanctions on Russian majors in November 2025, before climbing back toward around 37.7% of import value by April 2026
The renewed rise in Russian crude's share, even after a brief sanctions-driven dip, illustrates the tension between cost-driven energy security (cheaper Russian barrels) and geopolitical/trade risk (the new US tariff threat) that shapes India's import strategy.
G7/EU Price Cap on Russian Seaborne Crude
The G7 and EU price cap mechanism, effective from December 2022, prohibits Western shipping, insurance, and financial services for Russian seaborne crude sold above a set price ceiling — an approach designed to curb Russian oil revenue while keeping global oil supply flowing, unlike an outright embargo.
Key Details
- The cap was initially set at USD 60 per barrel for crude, with separate, lower caps for refined petroleum products
- Enforcement relies primarily on G7-linked shipping and "protection and indemnity" (P&I) insurance services rather than direct enforcement in buyer countries
- In November 2025, the US imposed direct sanctions on Russian majors Rosneft and Lukoil, prompting a temporary pullback by some Indian refiners before Russian oil imports rebounded
The "tariff flip-flop" reflects the interplay of three distinct, overlapping US/Western tools — the price-cap regime, targeted company sanctions, and the newly threatened secondary tariff — all aimed at curbing Russian oil revenue.
- Proposed US secondary tariff on top buyers of Russian oil and gas: up to 100% (discretionary, not automatic)
- India's crude oil imports from Russia, FY2026: about USD 40.8 billion, roughly one-third of India's total crude import bill
- Russia's share of India's crude imports fell below 25% between December 2025 and February 2026, then rose to about 37.7% of import value by April 2026
- India is currently Russia's second-largest crude oil buyer, after China
- G7/EU price cap on Russian seaborne crude: USD 60 per barrel, effective December 2022
- US Senate vote on the sanctions legislation: 86-11 (2026); US House vote: 262-159