India remains guided by the imperative of securing “affordable energy” for its 1.4 billion people amid evolving global market dynamics, the Ministry of External Affairs said in its first reaction to a proposed bill in the United States Congress that seeks to impose a 500% duty on countries continuing to purchase Russian oil.
“We are aware of this bill, and we are focused on the developments. You are aware of our approach towards energy sources. In this regard, our approach depends on the situation in global markets and our imperative on making energy available to our people through diverse sources to meet their energy security needs,” said MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
500% tariff against India?
US President Donald Trump recently backed a bipartisan bill targeting countries doing business with Russia with up to 500% tariffs on imported goods. The Bill was introduced by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham — ahead of a Supreme Court judgement on the legality of the Trump tariffs. Graham said Trump has given a green light to the bipartisan Russia Sanctions Bill, which would give leverage against India, China, and Brazil to stop them from purchasing Russian oil and punish the countries “fuelling Putin’s war machine”. India has been the second-largest buyer of Russian crude after China.
Indian shares log worst week in over 3 months
Indian equity benchmarks fell for a fifth consecutive session on Friday and recorded their worst weekly drop in over three months as renewed concerns over U.S. tariffs rattled investors. The Nifty 50 fell 0.75% to 25,683.3, while the Sensex slipped 0.72% to 83,576.24. The indexes lost about 2.5% each for the week. Fifteen of the 16 major sectors fell during the week. Small-caps and mid-caps lost 3.1% and 2.6%, respectively. Indian rupee ended lower by 14 paise at 90.16 per dollar on Friday against previous close of 90.02.