US Senator Lindsey Graham claims Indian envoy sought tariff cuts over reduced Russian oil purchases

US Senator Lindsey Graham said Indian envoy Vinay Mohan Kwatra asked him to tell US President Donald Trump that India is purchasing less Russian oil and hence the 25 per cent tariff should be relieved.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One alongside Trump, Graham said, "I was at the Indian Ambassador's house a month ago, and all he wanted to talk about was how India is buying less Russian oil. And he asked me to tell the President to relieve the 25% tariff."

This comes as Trump hinted he could increase the tariffs on India for its continued imports of Russian oil. He also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called him a “good guy”. “He knew I was not happy. It was important to make me happy. They do trade, and we can raise tariffs on them very quickly," said Trump.

Trump’s hot and cold behaviour with India has been making headlines since he announced his decision to impose tariffs on the US’ trading partners early last year. Only last month PM Modi and Trump held talks focused on accelerating bilateral trade and investment, highlighting cooperation in critical technologies, clean energy, defence and security. Their discussion took place under the India-US COMPACT framework, which aims to catalyse opportunities for military partnership and technology collaboration.

Both leaders emphasised the need to sustain momentum in these priority sectors and reviewed ways to optimise future collaboration. The conversation also addressed broader geopolitical issues. Modi and Trump discussed the need for increased coordination to confront shared global challenges, including supply chain resilience, security threats and regional conflicts.

A US trade delegation led by Deputy US Trade Representative Rick Switzer arrived in New Delhi at the same time as the leaders’ call to advance negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement and deepen economic ties.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that trade talks with the United States were progressing well, though India does not negotiate under deadlines. He noted that five substantive rounds of discussions had already taken place.