US tariffs on India over Russia trade ‘unjustified’, says S Jaishankar

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Friday criticised Washington’s decision to impose additional tariffs on Indian goods, calling the move “unjustified and unreasonable.”

He stressed that New Delhi would continue trade negotiations with the United States but made it clear that India had “redlines” that must be defended.

Speaking at The Economic Times World Leaders Forum 2025, Jaishankar argued that the issue was being wrongly portrayed as a dispute over oil. “If the argument is oil, then there are (other) big buyers. If argument is who is trading more (with Russia), than there are bigger traders,” he said. He noted that Russia’s trade with Europe is much larger than its trade with India.

“This is being presented as an oil issue. But why I say ‘being presented’ is because the same arguments that have been used to target India have not been applied to the largest oil importer, which is China, and the largest LNG importer, which is the European nations,” he added.

The minister underscored that discussions with Washington were ongoing, but India would not compromise on certain national interests. “We have some redlines in the negotiations, to be maintained and defended,” Jaishankar said.

Currently, Indian exports face additional US tariffs of up to 50% in response to India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. A 25% tariff has already been enforced, with a further 25% scheduled to come into effect from August 27.