U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington will raise import duties on India after accusing the South Asian nation of exploiting discounted Russian crude. He told CNBC that before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, less than 1 percent of India’s oil imports came from Russia; the figure is now about 42 percent and has generated an estimated $16 billion in “excess profits” for some of India’s richest families. Officials familiar with the plan said tariffs on Indian shipments could climb to roughly 50 percent, up from the 25 percent levy added earlier this month. The threat of steeper duties is already reshaping crude trade flows. Industry trackers Kpler and Energy Aspects say Chinese refiners have booked at least 15 cargoes of Russia’s Urals grade for October and November after Indian state processors cut purchases as discounts narrowed. China’s own intake of Russian crude has risen only modestly—to about 16 percent of its overall imports—allowing Bessent to argue that Beijing is not engaged in the same ‘arbitrage’ as New Delhi. Moscow signalled it will keep energy ties with India intact regardless of U.S. pressure. Roman Babushkin, Russia’s chargé d’affaires in New Delhi, said Russian markets would “welcome” Indian exports that are priced out of the United States, and First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov highlighted prospects for liquefied-natural-gas and nuclear-energy deals. The trade confrontation comes as India intensifies diplomacy with both Russia and China. Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week met visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, hailing “steady progress” in relations and agreeing to reopen border talks, resume direct flights and widen commercial exchanges. Separately, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is in Moscow to prepare for a Putin-Modi summit expected later this year.