President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order removing a punitive 25% duty that had applied to all imports from India, the White House said.
The measure comes after a trade agreement announced earlier in the week in which the United States and India agreed to a new tariff schedule. Under that deal, U.S. tariffs on Indian goods were cut to 18% from 50% in return for India agreeing to end purchases of Russian oil and to lower certain trade barriers, according to the White House statement.
India depends heavily on foreign crude, importing roughly 90% of the oil it consumes. Since Russia's invasion in 2022 and the ensuing sanctions from Western countries on Moscow's energy exports, New Delhi has turned to lower-priced Russian oil to reduce its import bill.
Recent patterns suggest India has begun to temper those purchases. Reuters reported that shipments in January were about 1.2 million barrels per day, with estimates projecting a decline to approximately 1 million barrels per day in February and to roughly 800,000 barrels per day in March.
Context and market note
Importing discounted Russian crude has been a factor in bringing down India's overall import costs in the period since the 2022 invasion. The trade agreement announced earlier in the week, and the White House action to rescind the 25% duty, align U.S. tariff policy with the commitments in that deal.
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