Tariff Relief? US Secretary Rubio Hints At Thaw In US-India Trade Tensions Amid Russian Oil Dispute

In what could be a crucial signal for mending ties between India and the US, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration may be open to fixing the additional 25% tariff imposed on exports tied to India’s purchase of Russian oil.

In an interview with NBC News, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Washington is working to address the “sanctions situation” with India regarding its Russian oil imports, even as the steep tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump remain in place.

“We’ve already taken measures regarding India, but that’s something we hope to resolve,” Rubio noted, adding that President Trump is weighing additional steps in response to how the situation is evolving.

In a separate interview with ABC News, Rubio confirmed that ongoing trade talks with India are heavily focused on the Russian oil issue.

“We had meetings with them again yesterday, and it has to do with their purchase of Russian oil,” he said, adding that there has been “a lot of progress.”

Rubio also criticized several European nations for failing to enforce tougher sanctions on Russia.

However, Rubio did not say whether the two sides discussed the H-1B visa fee hike to $100,000 or Washington's demands that India open its agricultural and dairy sectors to U.S. companies.

Issues over Russian oil import

The primary sticking point has been India’s purchase of heavily discounted Russian crude. The United States imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian exports, with the Trump administration blaming India for helping continue the war between Russia and Ukraine. 

“China and India are the primary funders of the ongoing war by continuing to purchase Russian oil,” Trump said at his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday.

“But inexcusably, even NATO countries have not cut off much Russian energy and Russian energy products, which, as you know, I found out about two weeks ago, and I wasn’t happy. They’re funding the war against themselves. Who the hell ever heard of that one?”

Potential Thaw?

Earlier this week, Rubio described India as a relationship of “critical importance” to the U.S.

“Met with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at UNGA. We discussed key areas of our bilateral relationship, including trade, energy, pharmaceuticals, and critical minerals and more to generate prosperity for India and the United States,” he said in a post on X on Monday.

At an event in New York on Tuesday, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that India expects to increase its trade with the US in energy products in the years to come, and the country's energy security goals will have a significant element of US involvement

“Clearly, the world recognizes that energy security is one area where we all have to work together. We expect to increase our trade with the US on energy products in the years to come. And being close friends, natural partners, our energy security goals will have a very high element of US involvement, which will ensure price stability, diversified sources of energy for India and help us unlock limitless possibilities with the US on various fronts, energy and beyond,” Goyal said.

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