US grants temporary waiver for India to import Russian oil

The move provides immediate relief for some of the economies most impacted by disruptions in the Middle East. Read more at straitstimes.com.

WASHINGTON – The US has cleared the way for India to temporarily increase its purchases of Russian oil, reversing months of pressure on the world’s third-largest crude importer as an escalating conflict in the Persian Gulf upends energy flows.

A license issued late on March 5 covers transactions related to Russian crude oil and petroleum products loaded onto vessels before the same day, so long as it is delivered to India and purchased by an Indian firm. The measure expires April 4 at 12.01am local time.

“To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X.

“This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorises transactions involving oil already stranded at sea.”

The move – intended to ease pressure on oil supplies – provides immediate relief for at least one of the economies most directly impacted by disruptions in the Middle East. With plenty of Russian oil on the water, sanctioned and non-sanctioned, refineries could quickly ramp up purchases and stabilise operations.

The decision also marks a significant turnaround by the Trump administration, which had been putting intense pressure on New Delhi over its purchases of Russian oil. India has not traditionally been a major consumer of Russian crude, but it cranked up its purchases to take advantage of discounted cargoes after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.