US sees path to removing India tariff linked to Russian oil, says Scott Bessent

The United States has signalled there could be a path to easing its 25% tariff on India that was imposed over the purchase of Russian oil, even as the levy remains in place for now. “I would imagine there is a path to take them off,” Scott Bessent told Politico on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Bessent said the tariff was imposed because India was buying Russian oil and argued it had worked as intended.

According to him, purchases of Russian oil by Indian refineries have since collapsed, which he described as a success.

“The purchases of Russian oil by their refineries has collapsed, so that is a success. The 25% Russian oil tariffs are still on,” he said.

Bessent also pointed to how India’s sourcing of Russian crude changed after the Ukraine invasion.

According to him, before the war, only around 2–3% of the oil processed by Indian refineries came from Russia, but that share rose sharply after Russian crude was sanctioned and sold at deep discounts.

He said Russian oil later accounted for a share in the high teens, allowing Indian refiners to earn higher margins.

Bessent’s comments come even as market trackers continue to expect India’s imports of Russian crude. According to Kpler, India was expected to import around 1.1-1.3 million barrels per day of Russian oil in January, unless there was direct government intervention.

Sumit Ritolia, Lead Research Analyst for Refining, Supply and Modelling at Kpler, has said Russian crude flows are difficult to halt without a clear policy directive, despite India having alternative supply options from the Middle East, the United States and West Africa.

The renewed focus on Russian oil flows follows recent comments by US Senator Lindsey Graham, who said President Donald Trump has cleared a bipartisan Bill on Russian sanctions. The proposed legislation would allow the United States to penalise countries, including India, that continue to import discounted Russian oil, citing Moscow’s failure to negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine after its 2022 invasion.

“This bill would give President Trump tremendous leverage against countries like China, India, and Brazil to incentivise them to stop buying the cheap Russian oil that provides the financing for Putin’s bloodbath against Ukraine,” Graham said on X.