New Delhi, Aug. 6 -- In a pointed warning on 4 August, US president Donald Trump threatened to impose "substantial" tariffs on India for "profiting" from fuel exports refined from Russian crude. The Republican also imposed a 25% tariff on Indian defence and energy imports from Moscow-reigniting scrutiny over Washington's approach to Russian oil and the global energy market.

Yet experts and former diplomats argue Donald Trump's stance is at odds with the very framework of the US-led sanctions on Russian oil, introduced in December 2022-not a ban, but a price cap, designed to curb Kremlin revenues while keeping energy flowing to global markets.

Contrary to Donald Trump's sweeping rhetoric, the US and its G7 allies did not impose a blanket...