The US president’s decision to delay new measures against buyers of Russian energy eases pressure on India as New Delhi and Washington seek to conclude a trade agreement.
US President Donald Trump has delayed the start of new Russia-related sanctions and tariffs just as they were about to take effect, a move that could ease pressure on major buyers of Russian energy, including India and China. In an executive order issued late on Friday, Trump said withholding the measures was in the US national interest. The step comes after he signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 last month, giving him authority to levy tariffs of up to 100% on countries importing Russian oil in an effort to squeeze Moscow’s war economy.
The waiver arrives at a sensitive moment in India’s trade talks with Washington. According to Indian officials, the two sides have been trying to finalise the first phase of a trade agreement, with commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal saying on Thursday that the deal had been completed in principle and was being put into legal form. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman also said on Friday that she hoped the agreement would be concluded soon, while external affairs minister S. Jaishankar has described the negotiations as moving towards a “landing point”. US ambassador to India Sergio Gor said earlier this week that talks were moving at an “incredible pace” and that the “big items are done”.
The tariff threat had added another layer of uncertainty to those negotiations, particularly because India has been seeking better access to the US market for its exporters. In February, the two countries agreed a framework that lowered the punitive tariff on most Indian goods to 18% from 50%, after Washington had imposed the higher rate in August 2025. The US remains India’s biggest export destination, taking in $87 billion of goods in the fiscal year ended March 2026, and Indian shipments to the American market rose 11% in the first half of the current fiscal year to $50.8 billion, according to commerce ministry data.
The wider economic backdrop also helps explain the significance of Trump’s decision. India imports about 90% of the crude it uses, and Russia has become a key source of supply. Commerce ministry figures show Russian oil imports were worth $28.33 billion in the April-July period, or about 45% of India’s total oil imports of $63.33 billion. Although the earlier threat had not immediately reduced Russian shipments, refiners would have struggled to replace those barrels quickly. Relief from the sanctions risk could therefore help keep supplies steady and ease some price pressure at a time when tensions in West Asia have already been unsettling energy markets.
That matters because higher oil prices feed directly into India’s import bill, inflation and growth outlook. Brent crude has been volatile in recent months, and India’s crude import bill stood at about $123 billion in fiscal 2026, according to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell. Bank of Baroda has estimated that every $1 rise in crude prices adds about ₹18,000 crore to the annual import bill. With India having already spent $74.85 billion on crude imports in the first five months of the current fiscal year, any sustained increase in prices would make the trade-off between energy security and inflation even more difficult.
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