Trump tariffs: India under fire from US over Russian oil imports; China buys more but escapes criticism, says GTRI

As the strain between US and India escalate almost about commerce talks, a latest Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) report referred to as out Donald Trump claiming the US President has been selectively criticising India relating to Russian oil imports whereas remaining silent about China’s involvement.The report, cited by ANI, introduced information exhibiting China as the first purchaser of Russian oil, with imports valued at $62.6 billion in 2024, exceeding India’s USD 52.7 billion. Yet, Trump’s criticism stays targeted on India, overlooking China’s more substantial involvement.“Trump appears unwilling to criticize China, perhaps because of geopolitical calculations, and instead targets India unfairly,” GTRI stated.The report contests Trump’s latest Truth Social put up claiming that India is “buying massive amounts of Russian oil and selling it on the open market for big profits”, figuring out this assertion as inaccurate.The organisation clarifies that India doesn’t export crude oil of any origin.As a internet crude oil importer, India exports solely refined petroleum merchandise, together with diesel and jet gasoline, some derived from Russian crude, which is commonplace observe for energy-importing nations.GTRI additional emphasised that Indian oil refineries keep operational autonomy in sourcing crude oil.These entities function with out requiring governmental approval for oil purchases from Russia or different nations, basing choices on enterprise components together with pricing, dependable provide, and export vacation spot rules.The report signifies that Indian refiners may independently scale back or stop Russian imports if confronted with secondary sanctions or restricted market entry.This shift is obvious within the statistics, in keeping with ANI citing the GTRI report, with India’s Russian imports lowering by 9.8 per cent to $9.2 billion in May 2025 in comparison with May 2024.The GTRI report determines that India faces unjust scrutiny whereas China’s bigger involvement stays unaddressed, doubtlessly attributable to wider geopolitical issues.MEA calls out US, EU over oil commerce with Russia; pans double requirementsThe GTRI report is aligned with MEA’s response on Monday over India being focused. India pushed again towards Trump’s risk to considerably enhance tariffs on Indian items, attributed to the nation’s ongoing oil imports from Russia, describing the transfer as “unjustified and unreasonable.” In a sharply worded assertion, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) defended India’s power technique, stating that its purchases of crude oil from Russia are “a necessity compelled by global market conditions” and never a political endorsement of Moscow. “India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,” the MEA stated, whereas highlighting that the US and European Union have themselves continued commerce with Russia, together with in power and demanding commodities, regardless of publicly opposing the Ukraine battle.Read more: India calls out US, EU over oil commerce with Russia; pans double requirements