Threats have been coming in hot and fast from US officials – some veiled, others overt – but all of them brazen. The latest attack against India’s stance on trade conditions has come in from US Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, who advised countries like India and Brazil to “react correctly” to America by opening up their markets for American goods.
In an interview with an American cable news network, Lutnick said “these countries have to understand that if you want to sell to the US consumers, you’ve got to play ball with the President of the United States.”
“We have a bunch of countries to fix, like Switzerland, Brazil, India – these are countries that need to really react correctly to America. Open their markets, stop taking actions that harm America, and that’s why we’re off sides with them,” he said.
The Commerce Secretary said the US also had unresolved trade issues with Taiwan, besides Switzerland, India, and Brazil, but that the US will “sort it out over time”.
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The Trump administration has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian imports, including an additional 25 per cent ‘punitive’ tariff on New Delhi’s purchases of Russian crude oil, which, the US claims, helps Russian war in Ukraine.
The tariffs against India and Brazil are the highest imposed on any country in the world.
During its face-off with the US over a stalled bilateral trade agreement, India has maintained that its energy procurement is driven purely by national interest and market dynamics.
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.
Until 2024-25, the US had remained India’s largest trading partner for four consecutive years, with bilateral trade valued at USD 131.84 billion (USD 86.5 billion exports), accounting for about 18 per cent of India’s total goods exports, 6.22 per cent in imports, and 10.73 per cent in the country’s total merchandise trade.
Recently, tensions seemed to thaw between the two nations, and a delegation led by India’s Union Commerce and Industries Minister, Piyush Goyal, also travelled to New York to engage in meetings with US officials. The discussions were termed “productive” by India’s commerce ministry, which said they are on the right track.
Earlier this month on September 16, a team of officials from the office of the US Trade Representative also visited India to discuss various aspects of the trade deal, and decided to intensify efforts in this regard.
India and the US had hoped to conclude the first tranche of a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by October-November of 2025. The pact is aimed at more than doubling the bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030 from the current USD 191 billion.
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