US accuses India of ‘profiteering’ from Russian energy purchases

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday accused India of “profiteering” by purchasing Russian energy cheaply and reselling refined energy products in global markets while defending Washington’s decision not to punish China for similar trade with Russia.

- Shashank Mattoo

Bessent said in a television interview that Beijing’s longstanding purchases of Russian oil were in contrast to India’s rapid increases of imports after the Ukraine war broke out. Bessent was asked why Washington had not placed tariffs on China for purchasing Russian energy after imposing a 25% penalty, on top of a 25% reciprocal tariff, on India for the same.

“China importing Russian oil is sub-optimal. But if you go back and look, before the 2022 invasion, 13% of China’s oil was already coming from Russia and now it's 16%. So China has a diversified input of their oil. If you go back and look back, India had less than 1% of their oil (coming from Russia) and now it’s up to, I believe, 42%. So India is just profiteering,” Bessent said .