US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Friday said that India would soon return to the negotiating table with Washington, apologize, and attempt to strike a deal with US President Donald Trump.
“So, I think yes, in a month or two, India will be at the table. They’re going to say they’re sorry and try to make a deal with Donald Trump,” Lutnick said in an interview with Bloomberg.
“It will be up to Donald Trump to decide how he wants to deal with (Narendra) Modi, that’s why he’s the President,” he added.
Lutnick’s comments came hours after Trump wrote on Truth Social, “Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!”
Trump also shared an old photo of Prime Minister Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Howard Lutnick warned that India must choose between supporting the United States and aligning with Russia and China. “They're the vowel between Russia and China (in BRICS). If that's who you want to be, go be it."
Lutnick further said, “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% tariff. And let's see how long this lasts.”
On the possibility on India-US talks, Lutnick said,“We're always willing to talk.” He added that countries such as India and China ultimately depend on the American market. “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, because we all know eventually the customer is always right,” he added.
The US commerce secretary said, “Before the Russian conflict, India bought less than two per cent of its oil from Russia and now they're buying 40%,” he said. He also called India’s purchase of discounted Russian crude oil,“just plain wrong” and “ridiculous.”
The US official also warned that the domestic pressure will eventually push India towards an agreement. Citing Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, he said, “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.”
(With inputs from PTI)