Indian Fuel Exports Escape Trump's Tariff Net, No Russian Penalty Yet

As per official data, India exported 4.86 mn tonnes of petroleum products to the US in FY25 for over $4 billion

- OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: India's exports of petroleum products like diesel and jet fuel to the US continue to be exempted from the levy of any import duty or tariff, and President Donald Trump has, for now, not indicated the penalty he plans to impose to deter New Delhi's energy trade with Russia.

On Wednesday, Donald Trump had announced plans to impose a 25 per cent tariff on India, along with an additional penalty, citing concerns over the country's energy and defence ties with Russia, as well as existing trade barriers.

However, the executive order he signed thereafter only gives effect to the 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods coming to the US. Even this has an exclusion list that includes finished pharmaceutical products (tablets, injectables and syrups), active pharmaceutical ingredients, electronics and ICT goods (semiconductors, smartphones, SSDs and computers), and petroleum products (crude oil, LNG, refined fuels, electricity and coal). The executive order also does not indicate any penalty that is to be levied for Russian trade.

According to official data, India exported 4.86 million tonnes of petroleum products to the US in fiscal year 2024-25 (April 2024 to March 2025) for over USD 4 billion.