India’s Russian oil imports could drop as refiners led by Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. wait for official guidance from New Delhi after US President Donald Trump said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had committed to stop taking the crude.
Several executives from state-owned Indian refiners—including Indian Oil, BPCL and HPCL—said they were caught off guard by Trump’s comments on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday (16 October 2025).
These executives, who asked not to be named as they are not authorised to speak publicly, said they hadn’t been briefed by New Delhi or any ministries on the matter. Three executives said Indian imports of Russian oil would drop in the short term.
India Russia oil imports
India’s Russian oil imports have come under scrutiny in recent months, after Washington DC singled out the trade as justification for hefty tariffs on the world’s fourth largest economy. In response, New Delhi has swung between striking a defiant tone and crimping the flows to comply with the US, as Modi faces domestic pressure not to cave to Trump.
Indian Oil, the nation’s largest refiner, and privately-held Reliance Industries Ltd. are now assessing their crude-buying practices, people with knowledge of the companies’ activities told Bloomberg News. They asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Press officials from Indian Oil, Reliance Industries, Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd., Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. didn’t respond to emailed requests for comment.
India-US Trade Deal Talks
India is fast-tracking its trade talks with the US with the goal of concluding deal negotiations by next month, even as Russian oil imports remain a sticking point.
New Delhi is working on a plan that would be mutually acceptable to address the issue, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is still private. They, however, did not share other details. Most of the other trade issues between the two nations have been resolved, they said.
“An Indian delegation is in the US this week to advance trade talks amid the government shutdown,” India’s Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Wednesday.
India’s government officials are cautiously optimistic about the renewed momentum in talks and believe that, at the current pace, negotiations could be wrapped up by November, the people said. The US and India had earlier agreed to finalise a bilateral deal by the fall.
US Tariff Impact On India
Meanwhile, the impact of 50% US tariffs has started showing on India.
India’s exports to the US in September fell the most this year as US tariffs took effect, according to government data released on 15 October 2025.
India’s US exports fell 11.93% year-on-year to $5.46 billion in September even as imports increased 11.78% to $3.98 billion, according to data released by the Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry. That was despite Indian merchants front-loading shipments in the months leading up to punitive tariffs.
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The US imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods on 27 August 2025 in response to trade barriers and New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil, making India’s apparel and leather-goods exports uncompetitive against Bangladesh and Vietnam.
Nearly 55% of India’s exports to the US were affected by the tariffs.