India’s State Refiners Keep Buying Russian Oil Despite Push for U.S. Tariff Relief

India’s government-owned refiners are still buying Russian oil, according to energy analysts, complicating New Delhi’s efforts to persuade Washington to ease tariffs linked to those purchases. The United States imposed a 25% “secondary” tariff on Indian goods in August, citing India’s continued imports of Russian crude, and expanded pressure in late November by sanctioning major Russian producers.

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said this week that India’s ambassador to Washington had urged him to ask Donald Trump to lift the tariffs, arguing that India has reduced its reliance on Russian oil. Data show imports did fall in December, but analysts say the decline was driven largely by reduced buying from Reliance Industries, previously one of Russia’s biggest customers in India.

State-owned refiners — including Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation — have offset part of that drop by continuing to buy Russian crude for future delivery through non-sanctioned suppliers, analysts said. This has kept overall demand more resilient than headline figures suggest.

According to Rystad Energy, India’s imports of Russian crude declined by about 300,000 barrels per day after November to roughly 1.7 million barrels per day, with a modest rebound to 1.8 million barrels per day expected in January. Kpler reported a sharper monthly drop in December, with imports falling to 1.24 million barrels per day, the lowest level since late 2022.

Analysts describe the trend as a redistribution rather than a collapse in demand. Public sector refiners continue to process Russian oil due to domestic fuel demand and favorable pricing, even as India faces sustained U.S. pressure to curb purchases that provide Moscow with critical revenue amid the war in Ukraine.

Trump has warned that tariffs could be raised further if India fails to rein in imports, setting up a delicate balancing act for New Delhi between maintaining energy security and managing its trade relationship with Washington.