Overview

• In a Fox News interview, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said India and China are "keeping the Russian war machine going" by buying discounted Russian oil.
• Bessent forecast a near-term rebalancing in which India buys less Russian crude and more U.S. oil, describing a shift that remains a prediction rather than confirmed by trade data.
• He said the U.S. has imposed an extra 25% tariff on India tied to those purchases and argued that cutting Russian oil revenue is central to ending the war in Ukraine.
• Bessent added that President Trump has urged NATO countries to consider tariffs on China if it continues purchasing Russian oil.
• He has also criticized Europe for buying fuel refined in India from Russian crude, while Energy Secretary Chris Wright noted India buys Russian oil because it is cheaper and that the U.S. can supply alternatives.