“China importing is at suboptimal. If you go back to pre 2022, pre invasion (of Ukraine), 13% of China’s oil was already coming from Russia. Now it’s 16%. so China has diversified input of their oil. India has less than 1% of their oil coming from Russia (before 2022). And now I believe it’s 42%. India is just profiteering, they are reselling. They made $16 billion in excess profits, some of the richest families in India. So this is a completely different thing,” Bessent said in an interview to CNBC when asked about why the US is being tough on India and not China in regards to tariffs for buying Russian oil.
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US President Donald Trump has announced an additional penalty of 25% on India above the 25% tariff already existing for buying Russian oil – a move that could severely disrupt Indian supplies while also resulting in a potential increase in the import bill as the country will lose its access to discounted barrels.
“This is what I would call the Indian arbitrage buying cheaper Russian oil, reselling as a product, has just sprung up during the war which is just unacceptable,” Bessent added.
The Secretary pointed out that the tariff revenue will be revised up substantially from $300 billion this year, refusing to give a concrete figure.
We will use tariff revenue to pay down US debt and bring down the deficit to GDP, which at a point, can be used as an offset to US consumers, he said.
Earlier, the US has also said that it will raise tariffs on India further for its import of Russian oil.
Refiners continue Russian purchases despite tariffs
Experts say it is unlikely that Indian refiners will voluntarily halt Russian crude imports in the absence of a clear government directive. Russian barrels— particularly Urals — offer a combination of technical compatibility, favourable yield profiles and strong refining margins that make them an attractive feedstock within the current refining slate.
State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corp expects its Russian crude to form 35% of its total imports for the remaining year of FY26 as long as there are no new sanctions on Russian oil, the company said in an analyst call.
Indian Oil Corp too said that it continues to buy Russian oil this quarter depending upon the economics. In the first quarter of FY26, Russian oil accounted for 24% of IOCL’s total imports, up from 22% in FY25.
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Russian crude still cheaper than alternatives
According to data from Kpler, the average landed cost of crude from non-Russian sources during April–May 2025 was approximately $5 per barrel higher than Russian-origin barrels. Although steep discounts seen in early 2022 have narrowed over time, Russian crude still ranks among the most economically attractive grades in India’s import portfolio.
India currently imports approximately 1.7–2.0 mbd of Russian oil, accounting for roughly 38% of its total crude intake. To date, no official directive has been issued by the Indian government instructing state refiners to halt Russian imports.