US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick issued a sharp warning for India on Friday — urging the country to “support its biggest client”. The remarks came even as President Donald Trump claimed that India and Russia had been “lost” to China following the SCO Summit. New Delhi has pushed back vehemently against such assertions and insisted on Friday that it ‘remained engaged’ in trade talks.
“India doesn’t want to open their market. Stop buying Russian oil. And stop being a part of BRICS. If you want to be the bridge between Russia and China…go be it! But either support the dollar, support the United States of America…support your biggest client…or pay 50% tariffs. And let’s see how long this lasts,” Lutnick told Bloomberg.
Ties between India and the US took a downturn earlier this year as Donald Trump imposed a whopping 50% tariff over continued purchase of Russian oil. Multiple members of his Cabinet have also issued vitriolic jibes against India for its policy. India has repeatedly described the tariffs as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable” — and questioned the US decision to single it out for punitive action. Top officials have noted that China (currently the largest buyer of Russian oil) has not faced any curbs. New Delhi maintains that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamics.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also criticised the continued rhetoric against India on Friday — telling CNBC TV18 that New Delhi would “undoubtedly continue” buying Russian oil.
“Where we buy our oil from, especially a big-ticket foreign exchange item where we pay so much, highest in terms of import, we will have to take a call on what suits us best. We will undoubtedly be buying,” she told the publication.
MEA ‘remains engaged with US’ on trade issues
Lutnick predicted that India would be at the table to make a trade deal within a month or two — ading that Washington was “always willing to talk”. Meanwhile the Ministry of External Affairs said it remained engaged with the US on trade issues.
“We see the Quad as a valuable forum for discussion among the four member countries on shared interests on several issues. The leaders’ summit is scheduled through diplomatic consultations among the member countries…We remain focused on the substantive agenda that our two countries have committed to, and we hope that the relationship will continue to move forward based on mutual respect and shared interests. As you would have seen, I would draw your attention to a joint military exercise that is underway in Alaska. A few days ago, there was a 2+2 inter-sessional meeting… Talks between both countries is going on and we are committed to strengthening our partnership,” added MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
India rejects Navarro comments
The Ministry of External Affairs also dismissed recent comments made by Peter Navarro over continued procurement of Russian crude oil. The White House Trade Advisor has aimed a barrage of offensive comments at New Delhi in recent weeks — calling the country an “oil money laundromat for the Kremlin” and insisting that the ongoing Ukraine clash was “Modi’s war”.
“We have seen the inaccurate and misleading statements made by Navarro and obviously we reject them. We have also spoken about it earlier. This relationship between the United States and India is very important for us. Both our countries share a comprehensive global strategic partnership, which is anchored in our shared interests, democratic values and robust people-to-people ties. This partnership has weathered several transitions and challenges,” said MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
He also insisted that India welcomed “all recent efforts” to establish peace in Ukraine.
“We welcome all the recent efforts towards establishing peace in Ukraine. We hope that all parties will proceed constructively. India supports an early end to the conflict and the establishment of enduring peace,” Jaiswal added.