Can already see India starting to diversify: Trump’s trade adviser on Delhi's oil purchases from Moscow

New York: India’s purchase of Russian oil is not a “bedrock” of the Indian economy, and the country is starting to diversify its energy buys, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said, noting that New Delhi will make its own decisions and Washington is not dictating to other nations on who they can have relations with.

"India has not always bought so much Russian oil. They've always had strong relationships with Russia, but it's really in the past two or three years that they started buying Russian oil at a discount, not only for consumption, but also for refining and resale,” Greer said during a conversation hosted by The Economic Club of New York last week.

“So it's not like this is some bedrock part of the Indian economy. This is something we believe they can do and should do. And frankly, I can already see them starting to diversify. I think they get it,” he said.

Greer added that “obviously they (India) are a sovereign country. They're going to control their decisions.” “We're not trying to dictate other countries who they can have relations with and who they can't. That's not what we're trying to do,” the senior Trump administration official said.

US President Donald Trump has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India, including 25 per cent for Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil.  Trump and his administration officials have said that India’s purchase of Russian oil is fuelling Moscow’s war against Ukraine.  Trump, in his address to world leaders at the UN General Assembly last month, had said that China and India are the “primary funders” of the ongoing Ukraine war by continuing to purchase Russian oil.

Responding to a question on the impact of the 50 per cent tariff on India, Greer said the levies on India have been in place now for some weeks.  “India is a country that has a USD 40 billion trade surplus with us. So they already have a… great deal with the United States. They sell us a lot more than we sell to them. That being said, the Indians are being pragmatic,” he said.

Greer noted that Washington has “actually been having” conversations with the Indians from day one of the Trump administration on the trade side of the ledger.  He noted that of the 50 per cent tariff on India, half of that - 25 per cent is the reciprocal tariff.

“It's where we're trying to negotiate a deal. And then the additional 25 per cent is for the huge increase in purchases of Russian oil that India has made.” Greer stressed that Trump is focused on ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

“We are trying to make sure that (Russian President) Vladimir Putin feels as much pressure as possible… We've even talked to our European allies, some of whom are still buying Russian oil to this day, which is crazy. So it's not just the Indians that we're talking to about this, and we talked to the Chinese about it too. We just need to end this war, and then if the war ends, and everything reaches some kind of stability, then you can have a different conversation about Russian oil.”

India has been maintaining that its energy procurement is driven 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.