India has more work to do in order to satisfy US concerns about its purchases of Russian oil and secure tariff relief, President Donald Trump’s trade representative said. US and Indian officials have been in talks for months over an agreement to lower Trump’s 50 per cent tariff. The President imposed the rate last year, arguing that India’s oil purchases were fuelling Russia’s war effort in Ukraine. Discounted Russian crude has continued to make up a significant portion of Indian imports, a dynamic that analysts say may persist well into 2026. In the meantime, India and the European Union finalised a free-trade pact that was two decades in the making.

Source: The Telegraph January 28, 2026 23:48 UTC