India calls the EU and the US trade with Russia after Trump threatens a larger tariffs

India said it was “directed” by the United States and the European Union because of the import of Russian oil after US President Donald Trump in a social media publication threatened New Delhi overnight with much larger tariffs.

India began importing oil from Russia only after traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the war in Russia-Ukraine in 2022, according to a statement from the country’s foreign ministry at the end of Monday.

The ministry called the EU and the United States, saying, “It is revealed that the nations themselves criticizing India are committed to trade with Russia. Unlike our case, such trade is not even a vital national coercion (for them).”

The EU bilateral trade with Russia amounts to EUR 67.5 billion ($ 78.1 billion) in 2024, while the service of services in 2023 was 17.2 billion, according to Data from the European CommissionS Referring to these data, India said the block of the block was “significantly more” than India’s total trade with Russia.

Data from the Indian Embassy in Moscow A bilateral trade between New Delhi and Moscow has reached a record $ 68.7 billion for the year, which ended March 2025, nearly 5.8 times higher than pre-re-trade in $ 10.1 billion.

In the meantime, the EU was Russia’s third largest trading partner in 2024, representing 38.4% of the total global trade in goods in the country, sliding from the best partner in Moscow in 2020. EU goods with Russia dropped to EUR 67.5 billion in 2024 from EUR 257.5 billion in 2021.

India’s response comes after Trump threatened on Monday that It will “generate” the tariffs for India, although it does not specify the level of higher tariffs. The US President threatened a 25% duty on Indian exports as well as an unspecified “punishment” last week.

He also accused India of buying a discount Russian oil and “sold on the open market for big profits.”

Russia has become Leading Petrol Provider in India As the war in Ukraine began, an increase in imports from just under 100,000 barrels a day before the invasion or 2.5% of its total imports to more than 1.8 million barrels a day in 2023 or 39%, according to the US Energy Information Administration, earlier this year.

“The United States at that time actively promoted such imports to India to strengthen the stability of global energy markets,” the country says in its statement.

According to the International Energy Agency, 70% of the Russian raw material was exported to India in 2024. India said that oil imports were intended to guarantee predictable and affordable energy costs for the Indian consumer.

In the past, India defended its purchases from oil from Russia, such as Hardep Singh Puri, the country’s energy minister, in an interview last month, CNBC that New Delhi had helped stabilize global energy prices and was encouraged by the United States to do so.

“If people or countries had stopped buying at this stage, the price of oil would reach $ 130 per barrel. This was a situation where we were advised, including our friends in the United States, to buy Russian oil, but within the price,” Puri said.

India also strives for the United States, saying that the country continues to import Uranus Hexafluoride to its nuclear industry, palladium for the electric vehicle industry, as well as fertilizers and chemicals.

The US bilateral trade with Russia in 2024 amounts to $ 5.2 billion, compared to nearly $ 36 billion in 2021, government data show. The United States has not imposed any “reciprocal rates” of Russia.

“In this origin, India’s directing is unjustified and unreasonable. Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to protect its national interests and economic security,” New Delhi said.

Speaking to CNBC’s Squawk Box Asia, Rachel Zeba, Adjukt Senior at the Center for New American Security, said some of India’s concerns are justified.

He pointed out that “this is the last US administration to create a price limitation system that has made it easier to redirect trade.”

Zeema also said that India was caught in “cross fire” of difficult trade conversations and Trump now wants to be difficult for Russia after six months “does nothing to put pressure on Russia from the economic side.”