India must rethink Russian oil amid tariffs: Nobel winner Banerjee

INDIA SHOULD CONSIDER whether the cheap oil imports from Russia are 'worth it' after the Trump administration announced an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee has said.

- BIJAY KUMAR SINGH

Last week, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order, slapping an additional 25% levy on India for New Delhi's purchases of Russian oil, bringing the total duties to 50% — among the highest imposed by the US on any country in the world.

The additional 25% duty will come into effect on August 27.

"We need to think hard about whether Russian oil imports are worth it and then go back to the US to say that, you know, will they take it (tariff) off, if we stop importing Russian oil," Banerjee told PTI on the sidelines of an event organised by BML Munjal University.

Since the steep tariffs are likely to hit the $27 billion of non-exempt exports that India does to the US, there has been chatter around stopping or curtailing oil imports from Russia.

"It is not crazy to think about it. At a 25% tariff, some of our exports are already not competitive, so maybe 50% (tariff) does not matter," the eminent economist said.