Three years into war, US and Europe keep billions in trade with Russia

THREE years after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the United States and European Union still import billions of euros worth of Russian energy and commodities, ranging from liquefied natural gas to enriched uranium.

AI Brief

India's imports from Russia surged, mainly driven by crude oil, coal, and fertiliser.
EU and US reduced overall trade with Russia but still rely on some key resources.
India criticised Western nations for double standards amid rising pressure from Trump.

India last week lashed out at what it called Western double standards, after facing renewed threats from U.S. President Donald Trump over its surging purchases of Russian crude oil.

Here are the main commercial ties that the U.S., 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% from the first quarter of 2022 through the first quarter of this year, according to the latest data from Eurostat.

Imports of goods from Russia in the first quarter of 2025 totaled 8.74 billion euros ($10.11 billion), down from 30.58 billion euros four years earlier. Since January 2022, the EU has imported 297 billion euros' worth of Russian goods.

The EU, however, continues to purchase oil, nickel, natural gas, fertilizer, iron, and steel from Russia.

* OIL

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% in 2025 from 28.74% in 2021. Oil imports fell to 1.48 billion euros in the first quarter of 2025 from 14.06 billion euros four years ago.

* NATURAL GAS

Russia's share in natural gas plummeted to 17% in the first quarter of 2025 from 48% in 2021's first quarter.

* IRON AND STEEL

Russia's share in non-EU iron and steel imports slumped to 7.71% in the first quarter of 2025 from 18.28% four years ago.

* FERTILIZERS

As for fertilizers, a sector in which the European Parliament voted in May to impose prohibitive tariffs, Russia remained, as of the first quarter of 2025, the largest exporter to the European Union. Its share fell slightly from 28.15% to 25.62% in the last four years.

INDIA IMPORTS FROM RUSSIA

In contrast to Europe, India's imports from Moscow surged to $65.7 billion in 2024 from $8.25 billion in 2021, data from the Indian Commerce Ministry website showed.

* OIL

Crude oil has been the biggest driver of the growth in India's imports from Russia, jumping to $52.2 billion in 2024 from $2.31 billion in 2021.

* COAL PRODUCTS

India's imports of coal and coal-related products from Russia surged to $3.5 billion from $1.12 billion in 2021.

* FERTILIZERS

India's fertilizer imports from Russia rose to $1.67 billion in 2024 from $483 million in 2021.

U.S. IMPORTS FROM RUSSIA

U.S. imports from Russia fell to $2.50 billion in the first half of 2025 from $14.14 billion four years earlier, according to U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data. Since January 2022, the U.S. has imported $24.51 billion of Russian goods.

* FERTILIZERS

Last year, the U.S. imported around $1.27 billion of Russian fertilizers, up slightly from $1.14 billion in 2021.

* URANIUM, PLUTONIUM

The U.S. imported enriched uranium and plutonium from Russia worth around $624 million in 2024, down from $646 million in 2021.

* PALLADIUM

Russia exported palladium to the United States for around $878 million in 2024, down from $1.59 billion in 2021.