US President Donald Trump has suggested that India reduced its purchases of Russian oil in an effort to “make me happy,” while warning that Washington could raise tariffs on New Delhi “very quickly.”
Trump made the remarks while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday local time, alongside US Senator Lindsey Graham. Graham said India’s ambassador to the United States had informed him that New Delhi was buying less Russian oil.
“Modi is a very good guy and he knew I was not happy. And it was important to make me happy. They do trade and we could raise tariffs on them very quickly,” Trump said. He was responding to Graham’s remarks crediting Trump’s 25% tariff penalty on India as a major factor behind the decline in Indian purchases of Russian energy.
Graham recounted a private conversation with Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Kwatra, saying, “I was at the Indian ambassador’s house about a month ago and all he wanted to talk about is how they’re buying less Russian oil. ‘Would you tell the president to relieve the tariff?’”
Earlier in October, Trump had claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him India would stop buying oil from Russia.
Data from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics under India’s Commerce Ministry shows that Indian oil imports from Russia rose to $3.72 billion by value in November. However, analytics firm Kpler reported a decline in such purchases in December. US sanctions on Russian energy majors Rosneft and Lukoil—both of which conduct significant business with India—are expected to further impact India’s energy imports.
At the same time, India’s oil purchases from the United States increased to $1.44 billion in November. This rise aligns with India’s earlier commitment to boost energy imports from the US from $15 billion to $25 billion. In November, Indian public sector oil companies also signed a one-year agreement with US energy firms to import 2.2 million tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas, accounting for around 10% of India’s total LPG imports.
On Monday, Senator Graham reiterated his support for the proposed Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, which seeks to impose steep 500% tariffs on goods and services exported by countries that purchase Russian-origin oil, natural gas, uranium, and petroleum products. The legislation also calls for expanded sanctions against Russian businesses, government bodies, and senior policymakers.
Graham has previously said the bill would target countries such as India and China. “I’ve got 84 co-sponsors for a Russian sanctions bill that is an economic bunker buster against China, India, and Russia for Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine,” he said in a television interview in June, adding that he expected the bill to pass.
