WASHINGTON: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday (Aug 19) accused India of profiteering from its increased purchases of Russian oil during the war in Ukraine, saying Washington viewed the practice as unacceptable.
Bessent told CNBC that Russian oil now accounted for 42 per cent of India’s total oil imports, up from less than 1 per cent before the war. He contrasted that with China, where Russian oil imports rose modestly to 16 per cent from 13 per cent.
“India is just profiteering. They are reselling,” Bessent said. “What I would call Indian arbitrage – buying cheap Russian oil, reselling it as product – has just sprung up during the war, which is unacceptable.”
TRUMP TARIFFS
US President Donald Trump this month announced an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods as punishment for New Delhi’s Russian oil purchases, bringing the total additional duties on Indian exports to 50 per cent since he took office.
Trump has credited the tariffs with increasing pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to work toward ending the war in Ukraine. He has so far stopped short of imposing similar duties on China over its oil imports from Russia.
Asked about the lack of tariffs on China, Bessent said the situation was “completely different” because Beijing was a long-term buyer and had not engaged in the kind of “arbitrage” seen with India.
