Indian envoy sought tariff relief over reduced Russian oil purchases, US Senator Lindsey Graham claims

US Senator Lindsey Graham on Sunday (local time) claimed that Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra spoke to him last month about India buying less Russian oil and asked him to tell US President Donald Trump to relieve the 25 per cent tariff.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One alongside Trump, Graham said, "I was at the Indian Ambassador's house a month ago, and all he wanted to talk about was how India is buying less Russian oil. And he asked me to tell the President to relieve the 25% tariff."

This comes as US President Donald Trump has warned India of more tariffs over its continued imports of Russian oil.


"PM Modi's a very good man. He's a good guy. He knew I was not happy. It was important to make me happy. They do trade, and we can raise tariffs on them very quickly," Trump said.

ALSO READ: US could raise tariffs on India if they don't help on Russian oil issue: Trump

Trump's new warning to India comes amid growing scrutiny in Washington over India's energy trade with Russia, even as New Delhi has defended its oil purchases as essential for domestic energy security.
Meanwhile, the US strike on Venezuela has brought the issue of Oil into the forefront of geopolitics once again. Venezuela has massive oil reserves, which total over 303 billion barrels, making them the world's largest proven reserves. However, production has dwindled to 1 million barrels per day due to US sanctions and underinvestment. Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves (estimated at over 300 billion barrels), which represent roughly 17% of the total global oil supply, OPEC data shows.

The comments also come just weeks after Trump and Prime Minister Modi held a telephonic conversation, during which both leaders stressed the importance of maintaining momentum in bilateral trade ties despite ongoing tariff-related tensions.

The call coincided with the launch of a fresh round of negotiations between Indian and US officials aimed at resolving the long-standing trade impasse.Only days before the conversation with Modi, Trump had threatened to impose new tariffs on Indian rice imports.

The warning followed complaints raised by a US farmer representative at a White House roundtable, who alleged dumping by India, China and Thailand.