Donald Carney

at March 06, 2026

The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday has authorised the sale of Russian oil to India for a period of 30 days, an effort meant to relieve price pressures caused by the ongoing conflict with Iran.

The war on Iran begun by the US and Israel has made it difficult to ship oil through the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for India and purportedly responsible for 40% of its crude supply.

The Treasury Department said that crude oil and petroleum products from Russia that are already on ships can be unloaded in India from March 5 to April 4.

Last year, the Trump administration had imposed a 25% ‘penalty’ tariff on Indian exports citing the purchase of Russian crude, atop an already heavy 25% ‘reciprocal’ tariff. This penalty was withdrawn earlier this year but Trump had said that his government could consider re-imposing the levy were New Delhi to “directly or indirectly” resume intake.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote on social media that this was a “deliberately short-term measure” and would not be of “significant financial benefit” to Russia.

“President Trump’s energy agenda has resulted in oil and gas production reaching the highest levels ever recorded. To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil. This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea,” Bessent wrote.

Bessent wrote that the US expects India to hike US oil purchase.

“India is an essential partner of the United States, and we fully anticipate that New Delhi will ramp up purchases of US oil. This stop-gap measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran’s attempt to take global energy hostage,” Bessent said.

Trump also indicated on Thursday that the Treasury Department would make efforts to relieve price pressures, but it was unclear if he was referring to the temporary lifting of a ban on Russian oil tied to the country’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

The data intelligence firm Kpler has noted that renewed access to Russian barrels could allow Indian refiners to lift volumes above the recent baseline of roughly 1 million barrels per day and potentially rebuild flows closer to pre sanction levels, but that the benefit may prove limited. “India remains heavily reliant on Middle Eastern supply, while rising competition from Chinese buyers for discounted Russian cargoes could narrow price advantages and constrain the scale of additional inflows,” it has said.

Union petroleum and natural gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri in a media interaction on March 3 had said that Indian energy firms “now have access to energy supplies that are not routed through the Strait of Hormuz” and which would “help mitigate supplies that may be temporarily affected” by the conflict. But Puri did not elaborate on the source of these cargoes.

Roman Babushkin, Deputy Chief of the Russian Embassy in India, has noted in the aftermath of the US decision that both sides are keeping “all options open on the table.”

This decision has led Russia to rejoice, but the fact that India’s energy security depends on permissions from a foreign country has led to impassioned outrage.

On X, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has shared his own prescient parliament speech from February 2026, in which he had said, “The US will tell us who we can or cannot buy oil from – If it’s Russia or Iran, the US will decide. But our Prime Minister will not decide.”

In the new post, Gandhi has said, “India’s foreign policy emerges from the collective will of our people. It should be rooted in our history, our geography, and our spiritual ethos based on Satya and Ahimsa. What we are witnessing today is not policy. It is the result of the exploitation of a compromised individual.”

Other opposition leaders have also posted on X against the move.

Donald Carney

Friday, March 6, 2026

Trump Administration 'Allows' India to Buy Russian Oil for 30 days

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