India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, while speaking on the trade deal with the US on Sunday (February 8, 2026), avoided giving a direct answer regarding Russian oil purchases. He was asked a question about the condition of US President Donald Trump that if India buys oil from Russia, a penalty of 25 percent tariff will be imposed again on it. During this, Piyush Goyal said that buying oil from America is in India’s interest.
The Union Commerce Minister said, ‘Procurement of crude oil or LNG, LPG from America is in India’s own strategic interests as we are diversifying our oil sources.’ On America making Russian oil an issue, Goyal has been saying till now that this matter comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of External Affairs.
What did the Union Minister say about the trade deal??
In an interview given to news agency ANI on Sunday (February 8, 2026), Union Minister Piyush Goyal was asked that if bilateral consensus is not reached on Russian oil or defense matters, will it affect the trade deal? To this Goyal replied, ‘No, not at all.
He said, ‘In a trade deal it is not decided who will buy from whom and what. The trade deal facilitates trade and ensures access on priority basis. The purpose of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is to provide priority access. When we get a reciprocal tariff of 18 percent, we get an edge over other developing countries. These countries are usually our competitors.
What order did Trump give on India’s purchase of Russian oil?
However, the question regarding Russian oil still remains. In his executive order, Trump has directed the US Commerce Secretary to monitor India so that India does not resume importing Russian oil.
Also read: India-US Trade Deal: Will India buy Russian oil or not? Uddhav group said on Piyush Goyal’s reply – We bowed down…
