Europe’s Russia rhetoric doesn’t match its trade ledger

Europe’s Russia rhetoric doesn’t match its trade ledger

The European Union has championed sanctions against Russia and pressured other countries to isolate the nation. The European bloc's trade with Moscow remains robust, nearly matching India’s, a country it has routinely criticised for doing the same.

Data from 2024 shows that the European Union's total trade with Russia stood at $70.3 billion. India, often portrayed as one of Moscow’s key post-invasion trade partners, traded $72 billion worth of goods during the same period. While India’s engagement with Russia has largely been dominated by energy, with $59.5 billion worth of fuel imports accounting for over 80% of the total, Europe’s trade with Russia tells a more complex story.

The EU may have scaled back its oil trade—down to $24.2 billion in 2024, less than half of India's intake—but its trade with Russia in certain categories is much higher. Trade in chemicals alone stood at $17.6 billion, nearly six times India’s $3.1 billion. Metal trade with Russia reached $6.7 billion, over nine times India’s $0.9 billion. The EU also traded in $5 billion worth of food products and $4.4 billion worth of machinery and electronics.

EU’s imports of chemicals at $3.01 was almost double that of India’s, while its metal imports from Russia were nine-fold higher at $5.5 billion.

United States, which has targeted India over its relation with Russia, imports $3.8 billion worth of Russian goods, over half of which was in chemicals, especially fertilisers.

When it comes to Ukraine, US trade patterns also present a paradox. In 2024, the US imported just $1.23 billion worth of goods from Ukraine—lower than India’s $1.48 billion. At the same time, Ukraine paid $1.69 billion for US exports, highlighting the uneven terms of trade with its principal Western backer.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose additional penalties on India for its energy imports.

"India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits. They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA," Trump noted on his social media platform Truth Social.