Trump's 25% tariff made India 'gear down' Russian oil purchases: US Treasury Chief

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday claimed that India has stopped buying Russian oil after President Donald Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff, even as Washington considers far steeper penalties on other buyers such as China.

In an interview with Fox News, Scott Bessent said India has geared down and stopped buying Russian oil after President Donald Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff, even as the administration weighs far steeper penalties of up to 500 percent on countries still purchasing Russian crude.

“India started buying Russian oil after the conflict began,” Bessent said. “But President Trump put a 25 percent tariff on them, and India has geared down and has stopped buying Russian oil.”

Bessent was speaking in the context of a proposed Russia Sanctions Bill, which would allow the US to impose tariffs of at least 500 percent on countries continuing to buy Russian oil. The bill, authored by Lindsey Graham, has already been cleared politically by Trump, though it is still before the Senate.

“On the 500 percent tariff on the buyers of Russian oil, that is a proposal that Senator Graham has in front of the Senate,” Bessent said. “We don’t believe that President Trump needs that authority — that he can do it under IEPA — but the Senate wants to give him that authority.”

While India was mentioned as an example of compliance, Bessent trained his sharpest criticism on Europe and China. “We have Europe buying Russian oil, still, four years later,” he said. “They are financing the war against themselves.”

China, one of Russia’s largest energy customers, remains the principal target of the proposed punitive tariffs. US officials have repeatedly argued that Chinese purchases of discounted Russian oil are helping bankroll Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.

Graham has said the legislation would give Trump tremendous leverage over countries such as China, India and Brazil to force an end to what he called the financing of Putin’s bloodbath against Ukraine. In October last year, Bessent had claimed that as many as 85 US senators were willing to give Trump authority to impose tariffs of up to 500 percent on China for buying Russian oil.

India has consistently defended its purchases of Russian crude, arguing that its energy decisions are guided by global market conditions and the need to ensure affordable supplies for its population.

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