Three years into war, US and Europe maintain billions in trade with Russia
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India lashed out at what it called Western double standards, after facing renewed threats from US President Donald Trump over its surging purchases of Russian crude oil.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BRUSSELS - Three years after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the US and European Union still import billions of euros worth of Russian energy and commodities, ranging from liquefied natural gas to enriched uranium.
India this week lashed out at what it called Western double standards, after facing renewed threats from US President Donald Trump over its surging purchases of Russian crude oil.
Here are the main commercial ties that the US, Europe and India maintain with Russia, and their evolution over the last four years:
Europe imports from Russia
Since the beginning of the war, trade between the EU and Russia has drastically contracted due to EU sanctions and import restrictions on some products.
Imports from Russia fell by 86 per cent from the first quarter of 2022 through the first quarter of 2025, according to the latest data from Eurostat.
Imports of goods from Russia in the first quarter of 2025 totalled €8.74 billion (S$13 billion), down from €30.58 billion four years earlier. Since January 2022, the EU has imported €297 billion worth of Russian goods.
The EU, however, continues to purchase oil, nickel, natural gas, fertiliser, iron and steel from Russia.
Four years ago, Russia was the largest supplier of petroleum products to the EU, but the EU ban on maritime imports of Russian crude oil reduced its share to 2.01 per cent in 2025, from 28.74 per cent in 2021. Oil imports fell to €1.48 billion in the first quarter of 2025, from €14.06 billion four years ago.
Russia’s share in natural gas plummeted to 17 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, from 48 per cent in the first quarter of 2021.
Russia’s share in non-EU iron and steel imports slumped to 7.71 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, from 18.28 per cent four years ago.
As for fertilisers, a sector which the European Parliament voted in May to impose prohibitive tariffs on, Russia remained, as at the first quarter of 2025, the largest exporter to the EU. Its share fell slightly from 28.15 per cent to 25.62 per cent in the last four years.
India imports from Russia
In contrast to Europe, India’s imports from Moscow surged to US$65.7 billion (S$85 billion) in 2024, from US$8.25 billion in 2021, data from India’s Commerce Ministry website showed.
Crude oil has been the biggest driver of the growth in imports, jumping to US$52.2 billion in 2024, from US$2.31 billion in 2021.
India’s imports of coal and coal-related products from Russia also surged to US$3.5 billion, from US$1.12 billion in 2021.
India’s fertiliser imports from Russia rose to US$1.67 billion in 2024, from US$483 million in 2021.
US imports from Russia
US imports from Russia fell to US$2.5 billion in the first half of 2025, from US$14.14 billion four years earlier, according to US Census Bureau and US Bureau of Economic Analysis data. Since January 2022, the US has imported US$24.51 billion of Russian goods.
In 2024, the US imported around US$1.27 billion of Russian fertilisers, up slightly from US$1.14 billion in 2021.
The US imported enriched uranium and plutonium from Russia worth around US$624 million in 2024, down from US$646 million in 2021.
Russia exported palladium to the US for around US$878 million in 2024, down from US$1.59 billion in 2021. REUTERS
