United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed on Wednesday that India has stopped buying Russian oil after US President Donald Trump imposed punitive tariffs of 25% for its trade ties with Moscow amid the Ukraine war.

In an interview to Fox Business, Bessent said: “India started buying Russian oil after the [Ukraine] conflict began, but President Trump put a 25% tariff on them, and India has geared down and has stopped buying Russian oil.”

Indian goods are facing a combined US tariff rate of 50%, including the punitive levy imposed in August.

New Delhi is yet to comment on Bessent’s claim.

On January 8, Republican Senator Lindsay Graham said that Trump had approved a bill proposing tariffs of up to 500% on the secondary purchase and reselling of Russian oil.

Commenting on the bill, Bessent told Fox Business: “We will see whether that passes. We don’t believe that President Trump needs that authority, that he can do it under IEEPA [the US’ International Emergency Economic Powers Act], but that the Senate wants to give him that authority.”

The US treasury secretary also accused Europe of buying Russian oil and said that they were “financing the war against themselves” by doing so.

Trump has repeatedly alleged that the import of discounted Russian oil by countries, including India, was fuelling Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

However, India has said that the US tariffs are unjustified and has maintained that its oil purchases are guided by the country’s energy security needs.