Overview

• White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said India’s discounted Russian crude buys are financing Moscow’s war and should stop.
• President Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods earlier this month, and a planned Aug. 25–29 U.S. trade delegation to New Delhi was canceled, according to La Jornada.
• India’s Foreign Ministry says the country is being unfairly singled out, and Indian Oil CFO Anuj Jain said the refiner will continue buying Russian barrels based on economics.
• Crude fell on Aug. 19 on hopes talks could lead to sanction relief and on a softer stance toward secondary sanctions, then rebounded on Aug. 20 after an API-reported 2.42 million-barrel U.S. inventory draw with sanctions still in place.
• Trump said he is arranging a Putin–Zelenski meeting that could precede a trilateral summit and later acknowledged a pact may not materialize, while Moscow has not confirmed participation.