U.S. Waives 100% Russian-Oil Tariff, Handing India Relief Just Before Penalties Take Effect
The United States has stepped back from a sweeping tariff threat tied to Russian energy purchases, giving India and other major buyers of Russian crude a reprieve only days before the measures were due to bite.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on October 16 that waived penalties authorized under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, citing U.S. national interests. The law, enacted on September 18, had cleared the way for a 100% tariff on goods from the five largest importers of Russian-origin crude oil and natural gas that make qualifying new purchases, alongside a separate 500% duty on Russian-origin goods. The new-purchase penalties had been set to apply from October 18, meaning the order arrived with barely 48 hours to spare.
India was among the countries most exposed to the threat. According to data from the analytics firm Kpler, India imported roughly 1.9 million barrels per day of Russian crude in September — more than a third of its total oil purchases that month. A 100% tariff would have landed not on the oil itself but on a wide range of Indian exports to the American market, forcing exporters to absorb costs, cut prices, or risk losing orders. Analysts said the waiver buys refiners such as Reliance, Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum time to weigh Russian cargoes on price and logistics rather than political risk.
The move marks the latest turn in a volatile stretch of U.S.-India trade relations shaped largely by the war in Ukraine. In August 2025, Washington imposed an additional 25% duty on Indian goods over the country’s continued Russian oil imports, pushing total tariffs on many products as high as 50%. That surcharge was removed in February 2026 as part of a broader understanding, which also cut the baseline reciprocal rate on Indian goods to 18% and was linked to New Delhi’s signal that it would wind down Russian crude purchases. The White House has said India intends to buy more than $500 billion in American energy, technology and agricultural products, though it has framed that as an intention rather than a confirmed commitment.
Russia’s share of Indian imports has already slipped. Figures from the Global Trade Research Initiative showed Russian crude falling from 51% of India’s purchases in July to 44% in August, while Kpler put the September figure near 35%. Industry watchers cautioned that the decline reflects tighter Russian supply and competition from Chinese buyers as much as American pressure.
For now, the practical effect is that the penalties exist on paper but are not being enforced. The waiver carries no expiration date, yet it can be withdrawn at any time by the president or the secretary of state, leaving the tariff mechanism as standing leverage over both Moscow’s energy revenues and New Delhi’s purchasing decisions. It also leaves other existing U.S. tariffs and Russia-related restrictions untouched, a reminder that the reprieve is conditional rather than a settlement.
Source: Outlook Business