Overview

• Trade adviser Peter Navarro said he expects the Aug. 27 tariff hike to take effect, reaffirming a 25% reciprocal duty plus a 25% penalty tied to Indian imports of Russian crude.
• S. Jaishankar questioned the U.S. rationale and noted China is the larger buyer of Russian oil, as India’s ambassador in Moscow said purchases would continue depending on financial benefit.
• Russian officials said sales to India include roughly a 5% discount and highlighted talks on joint oil and gas projects in Russia’s Far East and Arctic after Jaishankar met Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.
• Chinese refiners booked at least 15 Russian crude cargoes for October and November from Arctic and Black Sea ports, as reports pointed to a brief dip and then a resumption in Indian state refiner purchases.
• A Foreign Policy op-ed argued broad tariffs punish unrelated exporters and urged targeted verification of refined-fuel origins, while CREA data estimated India bought over 20% of Russia’s wartime crude exports, trailing China.