Amid a much-delayed trade deal between India and the United States, the Donald Trump administration appears to have presented a new offer to New Delhi. As per a Reuters report citing sources familiar with the matter, the US government, which has been vehemently against India buying both Russian and Venezuelan oil, is now easing off its hold on the South Asian nation over the latter.
US’ Venezuelan oil pitch to India
The US had slapped 25% tariffs on countries buying Venezuelan oil, including India in March 2025. However, the new report now suggests that the Trump admin has told Delhi that it can resume its purchases of Venezuelan oil to replace imports of Russian crude.
It has to be determined whether the Venezuelan oil would be sold by outside trading houses like Vitol or Trafigura or Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA.
India has long been making efforts to cut down on its Russian crude oil imports after the Trump admin hiked duties related to the activity. Multiple top White House officials have repeatedly accused India of funding Russia’s war in Ukraine by standing among the top buyers of oil from the country.
However, recent statements by the likes of US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have signalled a reversal in those India-Russia trade ties to some extent.
Just this month, Bessent said at the USA House, Davos 2026, that India’s Russian oil purchases “have collapsed,” and the documented “success” could eventually result in the additional ‘25% Russian oil tariffs’ being rolled back sometime down the line.
Reuters further cited unnamed sources indicating that India is already on track to lowering its Russian oil imports by several hundred thousand barrels per day in the coming months.
The major report also comes to light after Indian Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said India was expanding its crude sources amid depleting Russian oil imports.
Trump’s reversal on Venezuelan oil?
Trump had originally imposed the 25% tariffs on countries purchasing Venezuelan oil as part of his administration’s efforts to raise a campaign against then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
US forces ultimately captured him on January 3, 2026. Maduro was taken into federal custody, as US officials alleged the Venezuelan leader, his wife and son, and their accomplices had engaged in a cocaine-trafficking conspiracy. US authorities further accused them of joining forces with cartels designated as terrorist groups.
The latest US move to lift some sanctions on Venezuelan oil, in turn, has been fuelled by the goal to allow American firms to trade and sell more oil produced there. As per The Hill’s report, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a general license this week that says American companies can conduct some transactions related to the exploration, refining or sale of Venezuelan oil.
After Maduro was captured, Trump said the US will sell Venezuelan oil. Earlier this month, Energy Secretary Chris Wright echoed the sentiment, claiming the US would “indefinitely” sell oil produced by the South American country.
“We’re going to market the crude coming out of Venezuela: First this backed up stored oil, and then indefinitely, going forward, we will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela into the marketplace,” he said at a Goldman Sachs energy conference in Miami.