President Trump reportedly called on the European Union to impose 100% tariffs on China and India if it wanted the United States to step up its own sanction pressure on Russia, as Brussels discusses its 19th package of sanctions against Moscow.
The EU is weighing options to impose fresh sanctions on Russia’s oil industry and exports by sanctioning major energy firms and erecting more barriers to Russian oil trade, sources with knowledge of the plans told Bloomberg on Monday.
Today, an additional 25% tariff on all Indian exports to the United States should come into effect, making the total tariff owed by importers of Indian goods around 50%. The additional tariff aims to discourage Indian energy importers from buying Russian oil. And it could hurt the U.S. economy—although U.S. oil producers would welcome the price change.
Russia and India are interested in collaborating on joint energy projects, including oil and gas production in Russia’s Far East and Arctic shelf, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday after meeting with his Indian counterpart in Moscow.
According to the data, Nayara Energy has imported at least seven cargos of Russian crude on tankers that include sanctioned vessels, carrying a total of 700,000 barrels. Nayara Energy accounts for some 8% of India’s total refining capacity. It operates a 400,000-bpd refinery in Vadinar, which is the second-largest in the country. The facility is 49% owned by Russia’s Rosneft.
In a later statement, India’s foreign ministry said that oil import decisions were “based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4bn people of India”. A spokesperson for the ministry said that “It is therefore extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest. We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable.”
EU states earlier approved a fresh sanctions package on Russia that included new banking restrictions and curbs on fuels made from the nation’s petroleum. The package – the bloc’s 18th since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – will also cut off 20 more Russian banks from the international payments system SWIFT and impose restrictions on Russian petroleum refined in other countries. A large oil refinery in India, part-owned by Russia’s state-run oil company, Rosneft PJSC, was also blacklisted.
Mol wants the EU and other affected nations to take part in “revitalizing” the Odesa pipeline, which the company says would also provide an alternative to Russian oil for Serbia. Hungary and Serbia are currently building a pipeline connection.
A European official attending the G7 finance powwow in Banff, Canada, told Reuters that the U.S. Treasury team thinks market forces are already doing the heavy lifting. With Brent prices wobbling around $64—and Russia’s Urals blend clocking in at a $10 discount—Washington’s logic is that there’s no need to poke the bear when the bear’s already limping.
The Biden Administration on January 10 imposed the most severe sanctions on Russia’s oil yet, designating two major Russian oil companies, Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, as well as 183 vessels, dozens of oil traders, oilfield service providers, insurance companies, and energy officials.