U.S. cut off India’s oil lifelines, now Donald Trump’s furious it turned to Russia

India’s energy pivot to Russia is not a betrayal, it’s a consequence of American sanctions. In a pointed column for The Indian Express, Amit Kumar of Takshashila’s Indo-Pacific Studies programme breaks down why Donald Trump’s anger at India’s oil imports from Russia is not only misplaced but rooted in contradictions within U.S. foreign policy itself.

As India and the U.S. failed to reach a trade agreement by the deadline, Trump announced a sweeping 25% tariff on all Indian imports, with an additional penalty tied to India’s ongoing crude purchases from Russia. 

While the base tariff hike was expected, the Russia-specific penalty triggered backlash in New Delhi.

The Ministry of External Affairs fired back, highlighting the U.S. and EU’s own double standards on Russia trade. 

According to Kumar, India’s oil trade with Russia—now a major supplier—was shaped by U.S. decisions. Washington’s sanctions on Venezuela and Iran eliminated two of India’s primary energy sources. 

Venezuela, despite having the world’s largest crude reserves, remains blocked off due to sanctions. Meanwhile, Trump’s own administration imposed penalties on Iranian oil in 2019 after withdrawing from the nuclear deal, forcing India to slash imports from Iran to nearly zero.

Then came the Ukraine war. As the EU scrambled to cut coal and oil from Russia, it drove up global energy prices. OPEC's output cuts worsened supply concerns. Yet, Russian oil never faced direct international sanctions. The G7 only imposed a price cap—which India did not violate.

Ironically, while Trump now targets India, he has overlooked Europe’s continued imports of Russian gas and LNG. The EU remains the largest buyer of Russian pipeline gas (37%) and LNG (51%). And while the bloc has reduced direct oil imports, it still buys Russian-refined products—largely processed in Indian refineries. As Kumar notes, the EU had no problem importing Russian-origin fuel from India until recently.

Trump’s frustration, he argues, is less about policy and more about disappointment. When he re-entered office earlier this year, he promised breakthroughs with Russia, China, and India. But six months in, those ambitions are unraveling: Putin hasn’t budged on Ukraine, Xi has stared him down in a tariff standoff, and India has flatly rejected mediation offers and refused to compromise during trade talks.

“Trump’s decision to sanction Russian crude oil, all of a sudden, is an expression of his disappointment,” Kumar writes, “arising from the mismatch between his expectations and reality.”