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India committed to stopping Russian oil buys, says US fact sheet
Vikram Misri said oil purchases were made by private companies based on “market conditions” and that “national interest will continue to guide our choices”
The White House released a fact sheet late on Monday asserting India has committed to stop purchasing Russian oil, reduce tariffs on “certain pulses”, and ending digital services taxes — claims the Indian government has not officially confirmed and that do not appear in the bilateral joint statement released by both countries last week.
The fact sheet and an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Friday both state India “has committed to stop directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil” in exchange for removing a 25% tariff penalty. However, the February 7 India-US joint statement makes no mention of Russian oil purchases or any Indian pledge to halt them. The fact sheet said the two sides reached a framework for an interim deal after Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on a call.
India has not confirmed it will eliminate Russian energy purchases. Foreign secretary Vikram Misri said on Monday that oil purchases were made by private companies based on “market conditions” and that “national interest will continue to guide our choices.”
There was no official word on the fact sheet from the commerce and external affairs ministries on Tuesday. People familiar with the matter said the fact sheet appeared to be a reiteration of points raised by Trump and other American officials since the two sides first announced a trade deal on February 2, and was more a reflection of the American side’s views. The India-US joint statement issued on February 7 remained the main document on the trade deal, they said.
“The fact sheet refers to several things brought up by Trump since February 2, including the purchase of more than $500 billion of US goods such as energy, ICT, coal, agricultural and other products over the next five years. We have made it clear that this is an intention and there will certainly be more purchases as trade grows,” one of the people said.
“Also on the call, President Trump agreed to remove the additional 25% tariff on imports from India in recognition of India’s commitment to stop purchasing Russian Federation oil,” the latest White House document stated.
Meanwhile, the US Customs and Border Protection updated its guidelines on Tuesday and said the 25% Russian oil tariff imposed on India was not applicable. However, it added that the 25% reciprocal tariff was still applicable.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, while speaking to Fox Business on Tuesday, said India had already started “winding down” Russian oil purchases and ramping up US energy imports. “They’ve already started expanding some of their commitments... They’ve taken down some digital services taxes they had on us already,” Greer said.
To be sure India already removed its 6% equalisation levy on digital advertising services effective April 1, 2025, through the Finance Bill 2025 passed by Parliament in March last year. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on March 27 that the “removal of the 6% Equalisation Levy is a part of that process” following the withdrawal of the 2% equalisation levy on e-commerce companies in August 2024, and denied it was a reaction to Trump’s tariff policies.
The people cited above made it clear that India will take all steps to protect agriculture and other sensitive sectors while taking forward the trade deal, and said there will be greater clarity when the two sides finalise the interim agreement, expected by March.
However, the White House fact sheet lists “certain pulses” among agricultural products on which India will reduce tariffs—a category not mentioned in the February 7 joint statement. India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses, and the sector is politically sensitive given its impact on millions of farmers and domestic price volatility.
There have been indications of India’s public and private oil refiners cutting back on Russian energy purchases since December 2025, with figures suggesting Russia now accounts for less than 25% of India’s total oil imports, down from highs of 35% to 40% seen in recent years. However, people familiar with the matter said the complete zeroing out of Russian oil imports is unlikely.
While the Indian side has pointed to Misri’s clarification on energy sourcing — which made it clear New Delhi will maintain multiple sources of energy and diversify them to ensure stability — the US side has contended that India has made a “commitment to stop purchasing” Russian oil.
The White House fact sheet also reiterates other commitments made by India in last week’s joint statement. New Delhi will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and on certain agricultural goods like soybean oil, tree nuts, wines and spirits, among others. However, the document does not mention US concessions to India, namely greater access for Indian-manufactured auto and aircraft parts, when the interim deal is put in place.
“India has maintained some of the highest tariffs on the United States of any major world economy, with tariffs as high as an average of 37% for agricultural goods and more than 100% on certain autos. India also has a history of imposing highly protectionist non-tariff barriers that have banned and prohibited many U.S. exports to India,” the fact sheet reads. It adds that New Delhi and Washington will implement the framework outlined in last week’s joint statement and finalise an interim agreement over the coming weeks. This is expected to lead to a wider Bilateral Trade Agreement, which will involve further talks on remaining trade barriers, tariff rates, regulatory standards, services trade, investments and other topics.
“The US administration is keen to see the opening up of the Indian market, especially at a time when US soybean producers are pressuring it over the stopping of purchases by China. They reached a point where they needed to do something, and India’s finalisation of trade deals with New Zealand, Oman and the European Union made it necessary for the US side to show that it too is capable of scoring a win,” a second person familiar with the matter said.
Like the India-US joint statement, the White House fact sheet also refers indirectly to China by calling for New Delhi and Washington to strengthen supply chain cooperation to “address non-market policies of third parties.”
