While the wait for the highly anticipated India-US trade deal stretches out, US President Donald Trump’s trade representative has once again cast some doubt on the South Asian nation getting relief from tariffs in the near future.
As far as US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s insight on the matter goes, India needs to do to a lot more to convince Trump amid concerns about its purchases of Russian oil.
US Trade Rep on India tariffs
In a new Fox Business interview on Tuesday (US time), he positively indicated New Delhi has “made a lot of progress” in terms of cutting down on its Russian crude purchase. However, at the same time, he said that the additional punitive 25% tariffs on Indian imports (bringing the total to 50%) were still on.
it’s “hard” for India to completely cut off those ties because “they like the discount that you get from Russian oil,” during the Fox interview. Furthermore, he maintained that he was “in frequent contact” with his counterpart in India.
Although he claims to share a good relationship with his Indian trade counterpart, presumably Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, he said that the US was still keeping a tab on India’s Russian oil purchases.
His remarks starkly contradict US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s recent claims at Davos 2026, where he indicated that the duties on Indian goods could be lowered at some point.
Jamieson Greer on India-EU FTA
Greer’s comments emerged hot on the heels of India and the European Union announcing the “mother of al trade deals” after nearly two decades of on-off talks.
When asked about his views on the finalised free-trade pact between India and the EU, the US trade rep positioned the deal as a counter to Trump’s sweeping tariff regime and trade policies.
During the Fox Business interaction, Greer said that with Trump prioritising domestic production, countries are looking for other outlets for their “over-production.”
Claiming to have looked over some details of the India-EU FTA, he said, “I think India comes out on top of this – they get more market access into Europe… sounds like they have some additional immigration rights. India is going to have a heyday with this. They have low-cost labour.”
More word on India-US deal
Just a few days ago, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had hinted that the additional 25% tariffs on India could be rolled back sometime down the lie.
“We put 25% tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, and the Indian purchases by their refineries… have collapsed,” he said at the USA House, Davos 2026. “That is a success. The 25% Russian oil tariffs are still on. I would imagine there is a path to take them off now. So that’s a check and a huge success.”
Trump had imposed the additional 25% tariff on India on top of the reciprocal duties, arguing that New Delhi was fuelling Russia’s war in Ukraine.
All these talks of the India-US deal also surfaced against the backdrop of Axios reporting on a “secret recordings” leak from US Senator Ted Cruz’s donor meetings in 2025.
During those alleged interactions, Cruz claimed White House economic advisor Peter Navarro, Vice President JD Vance and “sometimes” Donald Trump emerged as the key figures who potentially stalled the trade deal with India.
Meanwhile, India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri has since told CNBC on Tuesday that the much-anticipated trade deal between New Delhi and Washington DC is at “a very advanced stage.”
“I would try and look at the positive side, I’m not a soothsayer, I don’t know when trade deals will get signed, how long it takes … but I think one [everybody] needs to chill a bit,” he said right after the landmark India-EU trade deal.