AfriPulse
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 and the subsequent sanctions on Russian energy, the European Union has encouraged other countries to follow suit by enforcing sanctions, even as Russia offers discounted oil and gas to various countries around the globe. While many countries have adhered to the sanctions, some Asian states, such as China and India, have increased Russian energy imports to stockpile cheap crude and other energy products to meet the growing demand. Meanwhile, as the EU has reduced its reliance on Russia for certain energy products, it has been unable to completely decrease its dependence on Moscow for certain products, leading many to criticise Europe for its double standards.
In recent weeks, United States President Donald Trump has threatened India with extremely high tariffs if it does not reduce its imports of Russian energy, calling for the EU to condemn the import of Russian energy. Trump said that the EU should impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on India and China for continuing to purchase Russian crude to encourage the two powers to decrease their reliance on Moscow, to limit energy revenues for Russia to pump into its war efforts.
However, this is easier said than done, as Europe continues to depend heavily on Russia for certain energy products, despite two and a half years of efforts to decrease this reliance. While some European countries have been able to find alternative energy supplies, thanks to increased domestic production or strengthened trade ties with other world powers, others have not been able to reduce the import of Russian energy so quickly. Europe continues to be the biggest buyer of Russian LNG globally, importing around 51 percent of Russia’s LNG. The EU was also the biggest buyer of Russia’s pipeline gas, purchasing 36 percent of its total exports.
Much of this LNG is being purchased not by the countries that have already stated their intentions to continue purchasing energy from Russia, such as Slovakia and Hungary, but by those who support the sanctions on Russian energy, including France, Spain, and the Netherlands. In fact, after promising to phase out all Russian LNG use in the EU by the end of 2027, in the first half of the year, Europe increased its imports of Russian LNG from $4 billion to almost $5.3 billion. Meanwhile, in 2024, the EU’s bilateral trade with Russia totalled almost $80 billion, with EU imports from Russia of around $42.4 billion.
In August, India criticised the United States and European Union for threatening the Asian state with tariffs for its ongoing reliance on Russian energy, when they themselves continue to import significant volumes of Russian energy. Earlier in the month, President Trump had threatened the introduction of a 25 percent tariff on imports from India, and later said in a social media post that he would be “substantially raising the tariff paid by India to the USA” because of India’s imports of Russian crude.
In recent months, the EU has introduced sanctions on the Indian refiner Nayara, which is majority-owned by Russia, as well as banned the import of refined oil produced using Indian crude, which hit Indian refiners hard. After several months of saying nothing, in August, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the targeting of India was “unjustified and unreasonable”.
The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal issued a statement saying, “Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security.” Jaiswal also suggested that several Western countries were, themselves, continuing to import Russian energy and accused Europe of hijacking alternative supplies for itself.
“In fact, India began importing from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict,” Jaiswal said. “The United States at that time actively encouraged such imports by India for strengthening global energy markets’ stability,” he added. “However, it is revealing that the very nations criticising India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, this month, President Trump has put increasing pressure on NATO to stop purchasing crude from Russia and to implement far-reaching sanctions, suggesting that the U.S. would introduce a new wave of sanctions on Russia if this were achieved. In a social media post, Trump said, “I am ready to do major sanctions on Russia when all NATO nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO nations stop buying oil from Russia.” The increased call for cutting ties with Russia is aimed at putting pressure on Russian President Putin to finally end Russia’s war with Ukraine.
As Trump places mounting pressure on Europe and NATO to cut ties with Russia, India has criticised the U.S. and EU for threatening states that continue to depend on Russian energy with tariffs despite continuing to trade with Moscow. These double standards have the potential to undermine Trump’s diplomatic aims to put pressure on Putin to end the war.
Source: TheGhanaReport | Read the Full Story…
