US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick issued a fresh ultimatum for India on Friday — urging the country to stop buying Russian oil, open its markets and leave BRICS. He claimed that New Delhi would return to the negotiating table “in a month or two” and try to strike a trade deal with President Donald Trump. This is also the first time that any US official has issued a public demand for India to leave the BRICS grouping.
‘Trump will deal with Modi’
“I think, yes, in a month or two months… India is going to be at the table, and they’re going to say they’re sorry, and they’re going to try to make a deal with Donald Trump. And it will be on Donald Trump’s desk how he wants to deal with (PM Narendra) Modi. And we leave that to him,” Lutnick told Bloomberg TV.
The remarks came even as Trump insisted via Truth Social that the US had “lost” India and Russia to “deep, dark China” – sarcastically wishing them a “long and prosperous future together”. Ties between India and the US nosedived earlier this year as the POTUS announced a whopping 50% tariff over continued purchase of Russian oil. Multiple members of his Cabinet have also issued vitriolic jibes against India in recent weeks — apportioning blame for the ongoing Ukraine war.
‘Leave BRICS’
Lutnick also issued a demand for India to leave the BRICS alliance — the first time such a demand has been vocally announced by a senior US official. Trump has been vehement in his criticism of the group in recent months and dubbed it an ‘anti-American’ coalition. He had also threatened additional tariffs against its members and warned the group against adopting its own currency or competing with the dollar in any way.
“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 vowel 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.