India and Europe were essentially underwriting Russia’s war on Ukraine, US trade representative Jamieson Greer said on Tuesday, adding that India is committed to the trade deal with the US and has already started winding down purchases of Russian energy products.
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On India-US trade deal, Jamieson in an interview with the Fox Business, said that India has started ‘ramping back up purchases of American energy and energy from other sources’. “We have talked them about oil from Venezuela,” Jamieson said.
“Remember before 2022 the Indians did not really procure the Russian oil. It is really the art of fact of the Russia-Ukraine war and the discounted oil they could get. Remember they would get oil from Russia, refine it and sell the gas to Europeans. India and Europe were essentially underwriting the Russia’s war in Ukraine,” he said, adding that India is now committed to the trade deal.
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“They have already started expanding some of their commitments with respect to purchases. They have taken down some digital services tax they had on us. They are moving the tariffs down. This is going to be a very important deal and this is going to verbrate for many years to come,” Jamieson said.
India-US trade deal with Russian oil in focus
US President Donald Trump last week announced a USD 500 billion trade dealwith India with a stipulation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to stop buying Russian oil. India’s energy trade deal with Russia was the reason that the US imposed a punitive tariff of 25% on India last year.
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Trump, in a post on his Truth Social account, said he had spoken with PM Modi adding that the two leaders agreed to a trade deal, under which the US would reduce India’s tariffs from 25% to 18 %.
Trump also claimed that PM Modi “agreed to stop buying Russian oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela”.
The US President said that PM Modi also committed to “BUY AMERICAN”, at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 billion in US energy, technology, agriculture and coal.
“Our relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most,” Trump wrote. Days later, Trump signed an executive order eliminating the punitive tariff on India for energy trade with Russia as Trump repeated that India would stop purchasing oil from Russia.
“Specifically, India has committed to stop directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil, has represented that it will purchase United States energy products from the United States, and has recently committed to a framework with the United States to expand defense cooperation over the next 10 years,” the executive order read.
What India said
Commerce minister Piyush Goyal passed the question on India’s stand on Russian oil purchase to the ministry of external affairs which in its first remarks said that India will continue to place its 1.4 billion population as a top priority, especially in the current international dynamics in the energy sector.
“In so far as India’s energy security or sourcing is confirmed, the government has publicly, on several occasions, including me here, said that ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion is the supreme priority of the government,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a press briefing.