Lutnick criticised India’s sharp rise in Russian oil imports—from under two per cent before the Ukraine war to forty per cent now—calling it “ridiculous.”
He said India would “eventually return to the customer,” arguing the US, with a thirty trillion dollar economy, remains the world’s largest consumer market.
Comparing India to the “vowel” in BRICS, Lutnick warned New Delhi to either back the US and dollar or face steep tariffs under Trump.
US Commerce Secretary Warns India Over Russian Oil, Calls It ‘Vowel’ Between Russia and China
Howard Lutnick says New Delhi must choose between BRICS alignment and ties with its “biggest client,” the American consumer, as Trump weighs fifty per cent tariffs.
Summary
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that New Delhi will be at the bargaining table and will attempt to reach an agreement with President Donald Trump in a few months, referring to India as the "vowel" between Russia and China in the BRICS grouping.
"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.
According to PTI, Lutnick was also asked about Trump’s Truth Social post where the American President wrote, “Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together! President Donald J. Trump.”
Trump also posted an old photo of Prime Minister Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Criticising India for its purchases of Russian oil, Lutnick said that before the Russian conflict, India bought less than two per cent of its oil from Russia and “now they're buying 40 per cent of their oil from Russia.
“What they're doing is, because the oil is sanctioned, it's really, really cheap because the Russians are trying to find people to buy it. 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.
Lutnick referred to this as "just plain wrong" and "ridiculous," saying that India must choose its side. He responded, "We're always willing to talk," when asked if the US is open to negotiating with India. "The Chinese sell to us," he continued. We buy from the Indians. They will not be able to sell to one another. We are the world's consumers. People must keep in mind that our $30 trillion economy is the world's largest consumer. Since we all know that the customer is always right in the end, they must all eventually return to the customer.
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He said that India doesn't yet want to open its market, stop buying Russian oil and stop being a part of the BRICS.
“They're the vowel between Russia and China (in BRICS). 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.
PTI reported that Lutnick used Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney as an example when asked about the "hardening of the line" between Trump and Prime Minister Modi and whether he sees a deal of any kind in the coming months. Carney was elected "with this term elbows up, meaning, let's fight with America," but he eventually backed off from his retaliatory tariffs.
“So I think what happens is it's all bravado, because you think it feels good to fight with the biggest client in the world, but eventually your businesses are going to say you've got to stop this and go make a deal with America.” Defending its purchase of Russian crude oil, India has been maintaining that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamics.
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India turned to purchasing Russian oil sold at a discount after Western countries imposed sanctions on Moscow and shunned its supplies over its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
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