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The Indian government has decided to increase imports of US energy to reduce its trade deficit with the US and avoid possible duties. This was reported by Bloomberg.
According to India’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Vikram Misra, the volume of energy purchases from the US could increase from the current $15 billion to $25 billion. He noted that such dynamics would help balance trade between the two countries.
Kpler ‘s analytics show that in 2021, India was the largest buyer of US crude oil, importing about 406,000 barrels per day (14.5% of total US exports). However, in the first 11 months of 2024, this figure fell below 5% as Indian refiners preferred cheaper Russian oil.
The situation changed after the US imposed tougher sanctions on Russian energy trade. As the world’s third-largest oil consumer, India is now forced to rebuild its supply chain while trying to obtain oil at a favourable price.
The US is currently India’s second largest trading partner after China, with a total trade turnover of $82.5 billion from April to November 2024. However, India exported $52.9 billion worth of goods to the US, while imports totalled only $29.6 billion. This gap could lead to new trade restrictions by the Trump administration.
