India Confident of Strong Ties With US

With regard to Trump’s statement on India and Russia, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “Our bilateral relationships with various countries stand on their own merit and should not be seen from the prism of a third country. India and Russia have a steady and time-tested partnership.”

On the announcement of US tariff, Jaiswal said: “We have taken note. We are looking into it.”

The comments on the US are being seen as an indication that despite President Trump’s vitriolic statements, India was hopeful about weathering the storm and maintaining a strong partnership with key strategic partner. New Delhi was also hoping that the institutional mechanism that has sustained bilateral ties despite successive Presidencies in the US will prevail amid trade tensions.
There were indications that New Delhi was upset over the social media outbursts of President Trump against India and was of the view that any differences including on the trade front could be handled more sensibly through serious bilateral discussions.

The two nations are negotiating a bilateral trade pact with no breakthrough yet as India is committed to securing the interests of its agriculture and dairy sectors. New Delhi also declined to comment on President Trump’s statement that Pakistan may one day sell oil to India which was made after the US President said his country would develop Pakistan’s “massive” oil reserves.
At the MEA’s weekly briefing, Jaiswal said, “India and the United States share a comprehensive global strategic partnership anchored in shared interests, democratic values, and robust people-to-people ties. This partnership has weathered several transitions and challenges. We remain focused on the substantive agenda that our two countries have committed to and are confident that the relationship will continue to move forward.”

On defence ties, he added, “We have a strong defence partnership with the US which has been strengthening over the last several years. There is potential for this partnership to grow further under the India-US Compact (Catalysing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce & Technology) for the 21st century.”
It may be noted that the United States is also set to levy unspecified penalties on India for import of military hardware and oil from Russia. Asked about this and its effect on the India Russia Ties, the MEA spokesperson said, “Our bilateral relationships with various countries stand on their own merit and should not be seen from the prism of a third country. India and Russia have a steady and time-tested partnership.”

On defence procurements and energy sourcing including from Russia, he said, “The sourcing of our defence requirements is determined solely by our national security imperatives and strategic assessments… In securing our energy needs, we are guided by what is on offer in the markets, and by the prevailing global circumstances.”

After confirming levy of 25 per cent tariffs on India, Trump had on Thursday made disparaging remarks against India and its economy and had called it "dead" while also lashing out at India's ties with Russia. He had also announced a deal with Pakistan to exploit newly-found "massive" oil reserves there and wondered whether Islamabad would one day sell oil to India. The comments were intriguing since the International Monetary Fund (IMF) itself has described India as the fastest growing major economy in the world. India is also understood to have surpassed Japan to become the fourth largest economy globally in terms of GDP at US$ trillion 4.187. Also, Pakistan’s oil reserves including potential ones reportedly in its restive Balochistan province have yet to be proven globally as “massive”.
The US President had posted on social media platform Truth Social, "I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let's keep it that way." Criticising India’s defence deals and oil procurement from Russia, the US President was earlier quoted as saying that India has "always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia" and that they "are Russia's largest buyer of energy, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine." According to reports, the US is also set to impose unspecified penalties on India for import of military hardware and oil from Russia. The US President had earlier on Wednesday said, "Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any Country," adding that the US has a "massive” trade deficit with India.
India had earlier this week said in a statement put out by the Union commerce ministry, “The government has taken note of a statement by the US President on bilateral trade. The government is studying its implications. India and the US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement over the last few months. We remain committed to that objective. The Government attaches the utmost importance to protecting and promoting the welfare of our farmers, entrepreneurs, and MSMEs. The government will take all steps necessary to secure our national interest, as has been the case with other trade agreements including the latest Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the UK.”