India''s Energy Security: GTRI on Russian Oil & US Tariffs

New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) India should continue to base its energy policy on national interest and energy security, as imports of Russian oil have helped contain inflation and ensure stable energy supplies, think tank GTRI said on Wednesday.

Commenting on the proposed US tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian crude, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that the odds of this bill becoming law-and being enforced-appear low.

A group of 26 US senators-13 Republicans and 13 Democrats-has introduced a revised Russia sanctions bill that would authorise tariffs of up to 100 per cent on imports from India, China, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan for purchasing Russian oil.


"India should continue to base its energy policy on national interest and energy security. Russian oil has helped contain inflation and secure stable energy supplies," GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said.

He said that India has little reason for concern as the original bill sat in the Senate for more than 15 months without action, suggesting limited congressional support for such sweeping tariff powers.

"The revised bill may meet the same fate," he said, adding that the bill's prospects are further weakened by recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that struck down both the reciprocal tariff regime and Section 122 tariffs, underscoring the legal limits on using tariffs outside established trade laws.