Less than two weeks ahead of the mid-term elections, high energy prices remain a campaign topic across the United States, but they're also playing a role in trade talks with one of the world's largest economies.
The world's biggest oil refinery is on the west coast of India in Jamnagar, a city whose population just about matches the number of residents in Hawaiʻi's 1st Congressional District.
It's hardly one of India's biggest cities, but it plays a crucial role in the country's energy landscape.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio spent part of his day there yesterday, after calling India a “refining superpower.”
Until very recently, the fact that India got most of its imported crude oil from Russia was a political complication for the United States.
Last year, President Trump had threatened to double tariffs on Indian exports to the U.S. unless it cut back on its oil imports from Russia.
Now, the president is waiving tariffs that Congress passed against countries that import Russian oil.
That action relieves immediate U.S. trade pressure on India — and could ease the way for a broader trade deal between the two countries.
Energy has emerged as a critical part of the trade and investment relationship between the United States and India.
Reliance Industries runs the refinery in Jamnagar and has plans for a refinery project in Brownsville, Texas, although the exact size and other details of that investment remain unclear.
