India Counters US tariff Pressure With Deeper Connectivity Push To Russia
Jaishankar’s Russia visit highlights new transport corridors, signalling India’s bid to secure trade, energy, and strategic autonomy amid US tariff threats
Published : August 21, 2025 at 8:23 PM IST
New Delhi: As Washington increases pressure on New Delhi with sweeping tariff threats over its continued imports of Russian oil, India is looking east and north to rewire its trade arteries.
On Thursday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar underscored the importance of three connectivity initiatives with Moscow - the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), the Chennai–Vladivostok maritime route, and cooperation along the Northern Sea Route. Together, these projects are more than transport links; they are India’s strategic statement of resilience in an increasingly fractious global order.
“We also spoke about the connectivity initiatives including the International North‑South Transport Corridor, the Chennai–Vladivostok eastern maritime corridor, and cooperation in the Northern Sea Route,” Jaishankar said while jointly addressing the media in Moscow Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov following bilateral discussions. “These corridors promise to deepen economic linkages, reduce transit times, and expand trade access across Eurasia and beyond.”
While highlighting the importance that India is laying to these connectivity routes to Russia, he also laid emphasis on India’s pivot to Eurasia for trade.
While addressing the 26th Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological, and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) on Wednesday, Jaishankar stated: “Addressing tariff and non-tariff trade barriers, removing bottlenecks in logistics, promoting connectivity through the International North-South Transport Corridor, the Northern Sea Route and the Chennai-Vladivostok Corridor, effecting payment mechanisms smoothly, timely finalisation and execution of the Programme of Economic Cooperation till 2030, the early conclusion of the India-Eurasian Economic Union FTA (Free Trade Agreement), whose terms of reference were finalised today, and regular interaction between the businesses of the two countries – these are among the key elements.”
US President Trump has escalated trade pressure by imposing a 25 percent “reciprocal” tariff on Indian exports, then adding another 25 percent penalty due to India’s continued procurement of Russian oil – raising total tariffs to a staggering 50 percent. These were among the harshest duties imposed by the US on any trade partner, prompting India to label them “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”.
An internal Indian analysis estimated that reciprocal tariffs would affect 87 percent of its total exports to the US, valued at $66 billion. India estimated increases of 6 percent to 10 percent in tariffs on items such as pearls, mineral fuels, and machinery and believed its pharmaceutical and automotive exports would see the highest impact.
Economically, India depends heavily on Russian oil, which is both discounted and vital for managing domestic inflation and fuel subsidies. Replacing it abruptly would be both economically and logistically unfeasible – refinery calibration and supply alternatives are limited.
In response to US pressure, India has deftly widened its strategic partnerships. Bilateral trade with Russia surged from $13 billion in 2021 to $68 billion in 2024–25, though the trade deficit ballooned to nearly $59 billion.
Russian officials affirmed continued discounted oil supplies to India and proposed trilateral dialogue with India and China to foster a broader Eurasian strategic partnership. India is likewise improving ties with China, restarting trade, diplomacy, and travel, which, some analysts attribute to US pressure reshaping Asia’s alignment.
It is in the light of all this that Jaishankar’s highlighting of connectivity routes to Russia assumes significance.
The INSTC is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode network of ship, rail and road routes for moving freight. India, Iran and Russia had in September 2000 signed the INSTC agreement to build a corridor to provide the shortest multi-model transportation route linking the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Iran and St Petersburg. From St Petersburg, North Europe is within easy reach via Russia.
The Chennai–Vladivostok Maritime Corridor is a strategic sea route linking Chennai with Vladivostok in Russia, spanning over 5,600 nautical miles (over 10,300 km). It cuts journey time from 40 days to 24 days, with operations already underway as of late 2024. It enhances India’s maritime connectivity with Russia’s Far East, fostering diversification of trade routes beyond traditional hubs.
The Northern Sea Route is a shipping lane across the Arctic, enabling faster India–Russia trade especially during summer seasons as polar ice recedes. Running for 5,600 km, it is the shortest shipping route between the western part of Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region.
All these three corridors enable India to reorient trade flows through Eurasia – sidestepping Western-dominated routes and infrastructures, reinforcing its policy of strategic autonomy and reducing exposure to US trade coercion.
By deepening economic infrastructure with Russia (and indirectly, Central Asia), India signals a willingness to engage in a multipolar framework - a calculated counterbalance to US/China-centric systems. Jaishankar's emphasis on connectivity can be seen as part of a broader strategy to handle the $59 billion trade deficit by expanding Indian export potential and easing logistics for diverse goods.
Trading via alternative corridors secures supply chains - especially energy - amid escalating US pressure. Ensuring reliable access to Russian oil helps India manage domestic economic stability against external shocks. By stressing on the importance of such projects in Moscow, Jaishankar has amplified India’s diplomatic posture: underscoring resilience and partnership with Russia, with or without US approval or alignment.
To sum up, the External Affairs Minister’s remarks critically signal India’s strategic pivot to enhance connectivity with Russia - through INSTC, the Chennai–Vladivostok corridor, and the Northern Sea Route - as a tangible response to Washington’s punitive tariffs.
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