There have been more than mere blips of bonhomie between the US and India twice in the past week. Yet, top American officials continue with mixed signals on tariffs and trade talks, expressing hope for a deal with a familiar caveat – that India must stop buying oil from Russia.
Sergio Gor, President Donald Trump’s pick for the next envoy to India, said on Thursday that Washington and Delhi are “not that far apart on a deal on these tariffs”.
But President Trump is “crystal clear” on a key issue, he added: “Getting India to stop buying Russian oil is a top priority for this administration… I do think it will get resolved in the next few weeks.”
Currently director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, Sergio Gor, 38, is a former fundraiser for Trump and one of his closest aides.
US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick also on Thursday repeated the Russia-related condition. In a CNBC interview, he was asked what trade issue he was most focused on, to which he said: “Well, we’re going to sort out India… once they stop buying Russian oil.”
What’s the status now?
- India currently faces 50% as tariff rate on its exports to the US, half of which have been imposed as “penalty” for buying oil from Russia.
- The US believes if India stops the oil purchases, that’ll squeeze Russia’s revenue and force a stop to the war in Ukraine. The US has not acted against China on the same count.
- India has repeatedly said its oil purchases are simply driven by national interest and better prices, factors that did not bother the US earlier.
- Trade talks have resumed after Trump and PM Narendra Modi recently had social-media exchanges of mutual admiration. Yet, this sticking point remains.
What are reasons that disrupted talks?
A mixed tone this week is still a climbdown from the extreme aggression that most top US officials displayed over the past couple of months.
Gor characterised the stalling of the trade talks as “hiccups”. India’s commerce minister Piyush Goyal has said negotiations are progressing “in a positive atmosphere”.
India has, meanwhile, focused on old and renewed ties with other major powers like Russia and China. To the US, it has said the doors are open for talks but with certain red lines, such as protecting India’s farming and dairy sectors from a free flow of US produce.
That’s the business side of things.
Trump purportedly had a personal peeve, too, when India rejected his claims that he forced peace with Pakistan amid recent military skirmishes.
A ‘personal’ equation, and China
But Sergio Gor spoke of personal equations as a plus, and appeared to make a note of the India-China reset too.
He said there’s a “deep friendship” between Trump and with Modi. “In fact, if you have noticed, when [Trump] has gone after other nations, he tends to go after their leaders… When he has been critical of India, he has gone out of his way to compliment PM Modi,” he noted.
On China, Gor listed as his top priority “to ensure India is pulled into our side and away from them (China)”.
India has been making eastward moves – including a thaw with China – after Trump’s tariffs strained the relations. Besides meeting President Xi Jinping, Modi stressed India’s historic relations with Russia by meeting Russia’s Vladimir Putin too, at a multi-nation summit two weeks ago in China.