The US fined India for Russian oil, then bought Russian diesel

Transcript

America punished India for buying Russian oil. This month America started buying Russian diesel. In August 2025, Washington hit India with a 25% penalty tariff for buying Russian oil. Total tariffs reached 50%. The argument India's money was funding Russia's war. India pushed back. It has 1.4 billion people to fuel. Russian crude was cheap, and Europe was still buying Russian energy too. In February, a trade deal India committed to cut Russian oil, and the penalty was lifted. Then the Iran war choked the strait of hormones, and Gulf supplies were cut. By July, Russian oil was a record, 55% of India's imports. In September, a new US law threatened tariffs of up to 100%. On buyers of Russian energy, India's Russian share fell to about a third. Then diesel prices exploded as Ukrainian drones hit Russian refineries. On 9 October, Trump announced a deal with Putin. For nearly 2 million tons of Russian diesel, with sanctions waved until April 20, 207. A week later, he paused those 100% tariffs too. The White House says it's about cheaper fuel weeks before the midterms. Zelensky condemned it. Four Republican senators objected, and energy experts did the maths. All that Russian diesel would keep the world running for about 12 hours. For India, analysts say it's leverage, if Washington buys from Moscow when prices bite, it's much harder to punish Delhi for doing the same. So was India right all along? Or is this just politics at the petrol pump? Tell us in the comments. Follow Curio for more stories like this.

Transcribed automatically from the video, so small errors are possible.