New Delhi: The Indian authorities has issued a strongly worded response following US President Donald Trump’s latest menace to impose further tariffs on Indian items. The assertion, launched on Monday by the Ministry of Exterior Affairs (MEA), asserts that India is being unfairly singled out by each the US and the European Union for its continued imports of Russian oil.
Within the official assertion, the MEA stated, “India has been focused by the US and the European Union for importing oil from Russia after the graduation of the Ukraine battle. In reality, India started importing from Russia as a result of conventional provides have been diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the battle. The USA at the moment actively inspired such imports by India for strengthening world power markets stability.”
India emphasised that its power imports are important to making sure home affordability and power safety amid world market disruptions.
“India’s imports are supposed to guarantee predictable and reasonably priced power prices to the Indian client. They’re a necessity compelled by world market scenario. Nevertheless, it’s revealing that the very nations criticizing India are themselves indulging in commerce with Russia. In contrast to our case, such commerce shouldn’t be even a significant nationwide compulsion.”
Assertion by Official Spokesperson
https://t.co/O2hJTOZBby pic.twitter.com/RTQ2beJC0W
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) August 4, 2025
Backing its claims with knowledge, the MEA identified the size of ongoing EU-Russia and US-Russia commerce, calling the criticism of India “unjustified.”
“The European Union in 2024 had a bilateral commerce of Euro 67.5 billion in items with Russia. As well as, it had commerce in companies estimated at Euro 17.2 billion in 2023. That is considerably greater than India’s whole commerce with Russia that yr or subsequently. European imports of LNG in 2024, in truth, reached a document 16.5mn tonnes, surpassing the final document of 15.21mn tonnes in 2022.”
“Europe-Russia commerce contains not simply power, but in addition fertilizers, mining merchandise, chemical substances, iron and metal and equipment and transport gear. The place the US is worried, it continues to import from Russia uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear business, palladium for its EV business, fertilizers in addition to chemical substances. On this background, the concentrating on of India is unjustified and unreasonable. Like every main economic system, India will take all mandatory measures to safeguard its nationwide pursuits and financial safety.”
Earlier within the day, US President Donald Trump took to Reality Social, sharply criticizing India’s commerce with Russia amid the continuing Ukraine battle.
“India shouldn’t be solely shopping for huge quantities of Russian Oil, they’re then, for a lot of the Oil bought, promoting it on the Open Marketplace for large earnings. They don’t care how many individuals in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian Conflict Machine. Due to this, I can be considerably elevating the Tariff paid by India to the USA,” Trump wrote.
Trump introduced the imposition of a 25% tariff on Indian items beginning August 1, 2025, citing India’s commerce insurance policies and its alignment with the BRICS bloc. Based on Trump, India’s tariffs on US merchandise are amongst “the best on the earth.” He labeled India’s actions as a part of a broader anti-American agenda.