In an interview with CNBC, Lutnick outlined the two issues that the United States has with India – its trade barriers and its purchases of Russian crude oil.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly stated on Thursday that the Trump administration will work out a trade deal with India, weeks after President Donald Trump’s public criticism of the country and its economy.
In an interview with CNBC, Lutnick outlined the two issues that the United States has with India – its trade barriers and its purchases of Russian crude oil.
“Well, we’re going to sort out India. India has to basically open their market, [and] has to stop buying Russian oil. People don’t remember, India didn’t buy Russian oil before the war with Russia and Ukraine,” he said in the interview.
Lutnick’s comments follow President Trump’s renewed outreach to India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a post on Wednesday, Trump said that the U.S. and India are continuing negotiations to address the trade barriers.
“I am pleased to announce that India and the United States of America are continuing negotiations to address the Trade Barriers between our two Nations. I look forward to speaking with my very good friend, Prime Minister Modi, in the upcoming weeks. I feel certain that there will be no difficulty in coming to a successful conclusion for both of our Great Countries!” Trump said in the post.
Lutnick also said the U.S. has a “big deal coming” with Taiwan, and that a Switzerland deal is also probable. “Those are countries that are still out there,” he said in the interview.
Meanwhile, U.S. equities gained in Thursday’s midday trade. At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was up 0.79%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) rose 0.64%. Retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF on Stocktwits was in the ‘bullish’ territory.
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