WASHINGTON– U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick ratcheted up criticism of India on Friday, warning that New Delhi must reconsider its ties with Russia and the BRICS bloc or face steep tariffs.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Lutnick said Washington is “always willing to talk,” but accused India of resisting market reforms and aligning too closely with rivals.
“India doesn’t yet want to open their market. Stop buying Russian oil, right? And stop being a part of BRICS, right? They are the vowel between Russia and China. If that’s who you want to be, go, be it,” Lutnick said. “But either support the dollar, support the United States of America, support your biggest client — the American consumer — or I guess you’re going to pay a 50 percent tariff. And let’s see how long this lasts.”
Lutnick’s remarks underscored growing U.S. frustration with India’s purchase of Russian crude. “Before the Russian conflict, the Indians bought less than 2 percent of their oil from Russia. Now they’re buying 40 percent. The Indians have just decided, let’s buy it cheap and make a ton of money. But you know what that is? Just plain wrong,” he argued.
The Commerce Secretary also suggested that America’s massive consumer market would ultimately draw India back toward Washington. “The Chinese sell to us. The Indians sell to us. They’re not gonna be able to sell to each other. We are the consumer of the world. People have to remember, it’s our $30 trillion economy that is the consumer of the world. So eventually they all have to come back to the customer,” he said.
His comments came hours after President Donald Trump weighed in on social media, suggesting India and Russia had fallen into China’s orbit. “Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
India, for its part, pushed back on what it called “inaccurate and misleading” charges. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal rejected similar comments from White House advisor Peter Navarro and emphasized the resilience of bilateral relations.
“The partnership has weathered several transitions and challenges before,” Jaiswal said. “India remains focused on the substantive agenda that the two countries have committed to, and we hope the relationship will continue to move forward based on mutual respect and shared interests.” (Source: IANS)
