US wants to become No 1 oil and gas supplier to India. Who tops the list currently?
World | Explore India's energy import landscape, with Russia currently leading as the top supplier, and how the US plans to change this dynamic.
President Donald Trump on Thursday (Feb 13) said that the United States and India have struck an agreement that includes New Delhi importing more American oil and gas.
He said that the aim is to shrink the trade deficit between the two countries. Trump added that the move would probably restore the US as a leading supplier of oil and gas to India and will be "hopefully" their number one supplier.
During a joint press conference, Trump said the US trade deficit with India is "almost $100 billion". He added that he will hold trade negotiations with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the long-running disparities.
PM Modi said that the world's largest and fifth-largest countries would work on a "mutually beneficial trade agreement" to be sealed "very soon," with a focus on oil and gas.
Is the trade deficit $100 billion?
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Trump said that the trade deficit between the US and India is almost $100 billion, but as per government data, the US goods trade deficit with India was $45.7 billion in 2024, a 5.4 per cent increase ($2.4 billion) over 2023.
The data revealed that the US's total goods trade with India was an estimated $129.2 billion in 2024. Meanwhile, US goods exports to India in 2024 were $41.8 billion, up 3.4% ($1.4 billion) from 2023. US goods imports from India totalled $87.4 billion in 2024, up 4.5% ($3.7 billion) from 2023.
Trump said that both nations can make up the difference easily with the sale of oil and gas, LNG. Trump said that the US has more of it than any other country in the world.
"We have, I think, some very big things to talk about. Number one is, they are going to be purchasing a lot of our oil and gas. We have more oil and gas than any other country in the world, by far. They need it, and we have it. We are going to talk about trade. We are going to talk about many things," Trump said.
Who is the current leading oil supplier to India?
Russia continues to be the top supplier of oil to Indiadespite a decline in India's dependence on Russian oil. The West slapped sanctions on Russia and cut consumption of oil and gas since the Ukraine war started.
India, meanwhile, continued its ties with Moscow and remained a major consumer of Russian energy. "The world had this thinking that India somehow is a neutral country in this whole process," said Modi. "But this is not true. India has a side, and that side is of peace," Modi said of the Ukraine situation.
Energy cargo tracking firm Vortexa revealed in January that Russian crude made up 31% of India's imports, which was the lowest share of the year. This marks the second consecutive month of declining Russian imports, driven by reduced discounts. But despite the fall in percentage, Russia still is the number one supplier.
Meanwhile, the US accounted for just 1%. To understand with a reference, the US imported 8% of crude oil in August 2024.
In December, imports from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were 13% and 10%, respectively. Imports from Iraq jumped significantly, rising from 16% in November to 23%. Russian crude imports, on the other hand, decreased from 36% in November to 31% in December.
(With inputs from agencies)