Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said reports suggesting the US could impose a 100% tariff on countries importing Russian oil are merely speculative, while reiterating that the first tranche of the proposed India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) is ready for implementation once New Delhi secures a competitive tariff advantage over rival exporting nations.
"We don't comment on speculation," Goyal said when asked whether India could face US tariffs over its purchases of Russian crude oil.
His remarks come amid reports that the US Senate has advanced a Russia sanctions bill that would authorise President Donald Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries buying Russian oil, including India. The bill still requires final approval in the Senate, passage in the House of Representatives and the President's signature.
"We have very categorically and on several occasions expressed confidence that what we have finalised with the US as the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement, announced by our leaders on February 3, will come into operation as soon as the United States is able to ensure that we get a comparative advantage over our competitors — countries in our neighbourhood, the ASEAN region and other nations with whom we compete," Goyal said.
He said securing such an advantage formed the basis of the first tranche of the agreement. "Once that basis is re-established, the US BTA will be ready and operational," he added.
The minister's comments come amid growing uncertainty over the implementation of the proposed trade pact, as the US has imposed fresh tariffs on imports from several countries under ongoing trade investigations while continuing additional probes under Section 301 of the US Trade Act.
Referring to the Section 301 investigations being conducted by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), Goyal said India had participated in the process and was closely engaging with the US administration.
"Section 301 is a process being run by the USTR in the United States. We participated in that. They have imposed some tariffs under one investigation, while others remain under discussion," he said.