 "India is going to be at the table in a month or two and say sorry: Lutnick")
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Friday declared that India would soon be back at the negotiating table with Washington, would apologise, and attempt to strike a deal with US President Donald Trump.
"So, I think yes, in a month or two months, I think 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," Lutnick said in an interview with Bloomberg.
"And it will be on Donald Trump's desk how he wants to deal with (Narendra) Modi, and we leave that to him. That's why he's the President,” he added.
He also said described India's purchase of discounted Russian crude oil as “just plain wrong” and “ridiculous”, adding that India needs to decide which side it wants to be on, referring to the recent gathering of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese Premier Xi Jinping and Modi at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
Lutnick's remarks come on the heels of a raft of harsh criticism - particularly by President Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro - aimed at India over its purchase of discounted Russian crude oil. Washington has imposed a 50 per cent tariff on India, including a 25 per cent penalty for the imports, following failed attempts to finalise an interim trade deal with New Delhi by August.
The US Commerce Secretary claimed that India is continuing to import the cheap oil because of the sanctions imposed on Russia.
"And so the Indians have just decided, ‘Ah, the heck with it. Let's buy it cheap and make a ton of money',” he said.
He further added that that countries like China and India depend heavily on the US market, noting that America’s $30 trillion economy makes it the world’s primary consumer.
"So eventually they all have to come back to the customer, because we all know eventually the customer is always right," he added.
A vowel in Brics
Lutnick went on to describe India as “a vowel between Russia and China” in Brics and warned that it must side with the US or face the 50 per cent tariff rate.
"If that's who you want to be, go be it. But either support the dollar, support the United States of America, support your biggest client, who is the American consumer, or I guess you're going to pay a 50 per cent tariff. And let's see how long this lasts,” he said.
Earlier in the day, India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in an interview to television channel News18 that India would continue to buy Russian oil, and that it would decide its energy policy based on its requirements.
“India will continue to buy Russian oil. It is our decision to buy what suits our needs, where we buy our oil from, we will have to take a call on it,” she said.