India, faced with 25% additional penal tariffs for its crude trade with Russia, has reportedly urged the US to allow oil imports from Iran and Venezuela.

The global media have reported that New Delhi and Washington DC discussed the issue during Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal‘s recent visit to the US. The Narendra Modi Government has informed the US that India would have to import oil from Iran and Venezuela, if it reduces oil purchases from Russia.

As expected, the parties in opposition in India have strongly criticised the Modi Administration for seeking permission from the US, stressing that the Government of India should make a final decision in this regard. The Indian National Congress (INC) Party has slammed the Modi Government for “surrendering” to US President Donald John Trump‘s tariff threat, instead of standing its ground. Speaking at a press conference in the last week of September 2025, party spokesperson Pawan Khera stressed: “Has the Government of India taken a decision to cut tariffs under pressure from Prime Minister Modi’s close friend – Donald Trump? Has Piyush Goyal, who is in the US to apparently negotiate a trade deal, buckled under pressure and signed on the dotted line dictated by ‘Howdy Modi’s close compatriot Namaste Trump’? What does the fresh statement by the US President mean for India… If countries, like Mexico and Canada, can negotiate a month’s pause on US reciprocal tariffs, why could not India? India demands answers.“

The US has long imposed sanctions on oil imports from Iran and Venezuela. Hence, India halted direct oil imports from Iran in 2019. As the US started tightening restrictions on buying oil from Venezuela earlier this year, India has also stopped importing oil from the Latin American country. The energy hungry India is in deep trouble as President Trump imposed 50% tariffs on most US imports from India, making good on a threat to punish the world’s fourth largest economy over its purchases of discounted Russian oil.

Meanwhile, Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, has said that he does not know whether India really wants to import oil from Iran and Venezuela. Although Hardeep Singh Puri, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister of India, has refused to make any comments on the issue, he has stressed: “We have always complied with sanctions in the past, whether on Iran or Venezuela. There are no sanctions in Russia. That is the broad reality.”

Puri has explained that Russia is the third-largest oil producer in the world (after the US and Saudi Arabia). Russia’s production of crude and condensate is expected to remain flat at 10.3 million barrels a day in 2025. If India cannot import oil from Russia, then the South Asian nation would have to reduce fuel consumption and the move would have an impact on the Indian economy. Hence, sanctions have not been imposed on Russia. “If you remove the world’s third-largest producer, you will either have to cut consumption, stop eating or face very serious consequences. Prices will shoot up,” stated Puri. According to the Indian minister, the European Union (EU), Japan and Turkey, too, are importing oil from Russia.

An Indian delegation headed by Commerce and Industry Minister Goyal conducted an official visit to Washington DC from September 22-24, 2025 mainly to speed up negotiations on a trade deal with the US. The delegation held separate meetings with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and newly-appointed US Ambassador to India Sergio Gore. The Commerce and Industry Ministry has issued a statement, mentioning that views were exchanged on the possible shape of the bilateral trade agreement as India and the US decided to continue discussions to finalise the agreement expeditiously. According to sources close to the ministry, Goyal assured the US officials that India would purchase more oil from the US. Later, US Energy Secretary Christopher Allen Wright expressed hope that India would buy oil from the US in the future.

As per the Commerce and Industry Ministry’s data published in July 2025, oil purchased from the US was costlier than Russian oil. However, Puri has claimed that discounts on Russian oil have come down in recent times and Indian refineries are now buying oil from all over the world.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das