‘Selective bullying’: US punishes India, but its own trade with Russia grows 20% under Trump

Even as Washington slaps tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, US trade with Moscow has surged 20 percent since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.

The contradiction was spotlighted at the August 15 Alaska summit, where Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for the first time in a historic bid to resolve the Ukraine war. While no ceasefire emerged, Putin announced a rebound in bilateral commerce.

“Incidentally, when the new administration came to power, bilateral trade started to grow. It’s still very symbolic. Still, we have a growth of 20%. As I’ve said, we have a lot of dimensions for joint work. It is clear that the U.S. and Russian investment and business cooperation has tremendous potential,” Putin said. He added that opportunities existed in “trade, digital, high tech, and in space exploration.”

Trump described the talks as “extremely productive” but insisted “there’s no deal until there’s a deal.” He said “many points” were agreed upon but “a couple of big ones” remained unresolved, promising to brief NATO allies and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Putin, however, framed the outcome as a “new stage” in relations, with trade serving as a foundation for “business-like and pragmatic ties.”

The trade growth revelation has stirred anger in India, which faces punitive tariffs despite buying Russian oil primarily for energy security. Earlier this month, Trump announced duties on Indian oil-linked imports would double to 50 per cent from August 27. The Ministry of External Affairs denounced the measure as “unfair.” 

“The United States has in recent days targeted India’s oil imports from Russia. We have already made clear our position on these issues, including the fact that our imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India,” the ministry said.

Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi accused Washington of double standards. “US-Russia bilateral gas trade grew by 20% as per Putin. China accounts for 32% of Russia’s export market. EU’s 62% mineral fuel import is from Russia. EU’s LNG imports from Russia hit a record 17.8 million tonnes in 2024. But guess who is left holding the high tariff bill? This isn’t trade, this is being a selective bully, Mr Trump,” she wrote.

Despite Washington’s hard line on India, countries like China and the European Union continue to import vast amounts of Russian energy without facing similar penalties.