India-US trade: The United States has reiterated its view of India as a “strategic partner” even as tensions over trade and energy policy deepen, with Washington stressing the value of maintaining an “honest, full and frank dialogue” to resolve disagreements.
Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday, Tommy Pigott, Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the US Department of State, said, “India is a strategic partner with whom we engage in a full and frank dialogue. That will continue.”
Trump’s concerns over India’s trade with Russia
Pigott emphasised that President Donald Trump had been “very clear” about his concerns over the trade imbalance and India’s continued purchases of Russian oil.
“Addressing those concerns through his actions, he’s spoken about them, whether it’s about the purchase of Russian oil or about the trade imbalance. Addressing those concerns is important. Ultimately, this is about a frank and full dialogue… to advance American interests,” he noted.
The comments came hours after President Trump announced there would be no trade negotiations with India until the current dispute was resolved. “No, not until we get it resolved,” he told ANI in the Oval Office.
On Wednesday, an executive order added a further 25 percentage points to existing duties on Indian goods, taking the total to 50 per cent. The White House justified the move on national security and foreign policy grounds, pointing to India’s Russian oil imports, which it described as an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the United States.
When asked whether Washington feared pushing India closer to China, Pigott stressed that the American approach was to deal with differences directly: “This is about an honest, full and frank dialogue about real concerns that this administration has, that the President has outlined very clearly.”
New Delhi has rejected the tariff hike as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable,” with the Ministry of External Affairs pledging to take “all actions necessary to protect its national interests.”
PM Modi turns to BRICS allies
Amid the worsening trade standoff, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Thursday. The two leaders vowed to strengthen their strategic partnership in trade, energy, technology, defence, health and other sectors. The conversation came a day after Brazil, like India, was also hit with new US tariffs over Russian oil purchases.