Overview
- India’s Global Trade Research Initiative called for the immediate, unilateral withdrawal of the 25% surcharge without linking it to broader trade talks.
- President Donald Trump on November 11 said India has "very substantially" stopped buying Russian oil, confirmed the levy targeted earlier purchases, and pledged to bring tariffs down.
- Trade data for April–September 2025 show India’s imports of U.S. crude rose 66.9% to $5.7 billion, lifting total U.S. petroleum and product exports to India 36.3% to $7.5 billion, while India’s petroleum product exports to the U.S. fell 15% to $2.3 billion.
- India has secured new U.S. energy supplies, including BPCL’s 10 million barrels of Midland crude for November–March deliveries and a structured 2.2 million-tonne U.S. LPG import in 2026.
- GTRI argues the tariff now punishes Indian exporters, risks eroding goodwill in negotiations, and should be removed to restore parity with large buyers such as China that do not face comparable penalties.