New Delhi: US President Donald Trump’s trade counsellor Peter Navarro accused India of running a “profiteering scheme” through its oil trade with Russia. Taking aim at New Delhi, he said India is ‘perpetuating’ the war in Ukraine and dismissed the claim that importing oil from Russia was helping India’s energy security.
Meanwhile, the official website of the United States – www.census.gov – showed how America’s imports from Russia nearly doubled within a month, jumping from $196 million to $405 million per month.
Such figures are an indication that it is just not a spike in trade, but a signal of a dramatic policy shift toward Russian trade.
US-Russia trade
Notably, the figures further showed that the Russian imports have neared record high in just six months of 2025. In 2024, the total annual imports from Russia were $3 billion. Fast forward to 2025, and within just six months, the US has already imported $2.5 billion worth of goods. That’s an unprecedented pace, suggesting that if this trend continues, 2025 could double last year’s trade volume.
Notably, at a time when the west has been targeting India for buying oil from Russia to fulfill its energy needs, the United States and Europe are still having trade worth billions of dollars with Russia.
2025: U.S. trade in goods with Russia
| Month | Exports | Imports | Balance |
| 01/01/25 | 34.9 | 196.2 | -161.2 |
| 01/02/25 | 49.8 | 339.6 | -289.8 |
| 01/03/25 | 50 | 523.5 | -473.5 |
| 01/04/25 | 45.5 | 492.1 | -446.6 |
| 01/05/25 | 51.4 | 539.6 | -488.3 |
| 01/06/25 | 52.7 | 405.3 | -352.6 |
| TOTAL 2025 | 284.3 | 2496.2 | -2211.9 |
2024: U.S. trade in goods with Russia
| Month | Exports | Imports | Balance |
| 01/01/24 | 30.1 | 244 | -213.9 |
| 01/02/24 | 36.2 | 287.9 | -251.7 |
| 01/03/24 | 44.9 | 426.9 | -382.1 |
| 01/04/24 | 34.1 | 297.5 | -263.4 |
| 01/05/24 | 47.6 | 438.5 | -390.9 |
| 01/06/24 | 42.8 | 187 | -144.2 |
| 01/07/24 | 45.8 | 295.3 | -249.4 |
| 01/08/24 | 54.5 | 84.4 | -29.9 |
| 01/09/24 | 53.1 | 168.1 | -115 |
| 01/10/24 | 52.1 | 314.4 | -262.2 |
| 01/11/24 | 49.2 | 137.4 | -88.1 |
| 01/12/24 | 37.9 | 126.1 | -88.2 |
| TOTAL 2024 | 528.3 | 3007.3 | -2479 |
Navarro accused India of dramatically shifting its energy purchases since Russia began its military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.
“Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, India virtually bought no Russian oil… It was like almost one per cent of their need. The percentage has now gone up to 35 per cent,” Navarro said.
Earlier, Navarro had justified US President Donald Trump’s decision to levy an additional 25 per cent duty on India, terming it as a “national security issue”.
US-India relations affected
The relations between India and the United States have deteriorated after Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50 per cent, including a 25 per cent additional duty for India’s purchase of Russian crude oil.
Notably, the US has not imposed additional 25 per cent tariff on India for its energy ties with Russia, it has not initiated similar actions against China, the largest buyer of Russian crude oil.