Trump Russia waiver eases India's energy and trade pressure — SkimNews
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- Trump issued a Friday executive order waiving Russia-related US sanctions, tariffs on Russian goods, and penalties for purchasing Russian oil and gas that were scheduled to take effect this week under the Graham Act.
- The paused legislation would have hit Indian exports with tariffs of up to 100%, since India ranks among the five largest importers of Russian oil, prompting Prime Minister Modi's government to warn the measures could damage bilateral ties.
- Rubio told reporters the US-India trade deal is "very close" to finalizing and arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday for a two-day visit including a meeting with foreign minister S. Jaishankar on energy, trade, and defence.
- Russia supplied nearly half of India's crude imports earlier this year, but volumes fell in August and continue to decline as New Delhi hedges against the tariff threat.
- A remaining trade-deal obstacle is Washington's unfinished Section 301 investigation into alleged manufacturing overcapacity in India and several other nations, though India joined a US-led anti-overcapacity initiative earlier this month.
- Michael Kugelman of the Atlantic Council called the waiver "an important opening at a critical moment," arguing it gives negotiators "the negotiating space to get over the final hump."
Why it matters: India was staring down a 100% tariff wall on its goods while its top supplier (Russia) accounted for nearly half of crude imports — a pincer that could have spiked fuel prices ahead of Indian regional elections and collapsed the trade deal simultaneously. By suspending Graham Act sanctions, Trump removed the immediate tariff threat, giving New Delhi room to keep trimming Russian oil purchases gradually rather than abruptly and letting Rubio's two-day visit push the trade pact across the line.
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