Washington: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described India’s continued purchase of Russian oil as a “point of irritation” in bilateral ties, even as both nations maintain a strategic partnership.
His remarks came a day after US President Donald Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff and an additional penalty on Indian imports, citing New Delhi’s trade relations with Moscow and high trade barriers.
“Look, India is an ally. It’s a strategic partner. Like anything in foreign policy, you’re not going to align 100 per cent of the time on everything,” Rubio told Fox Radio.
“India has huge energy needs, and that includes the ability to buy oil and coal and gas and things that it needs to power its economy, like every country does. And it buys it from Russia, because Russian oil is sanctioned and cheap, meaning they have to, in many cases, are selling it under the global price because of their sanctions. Yep. And that, unfortunately, that is helping to sustain the Russian war effort. So it is most certainly a point of irritation in our relationship with India,” he said.
Trump had earlier announced on his social media platform Truth Social that the US would impose the new tariff on Indian imports from Friday.
“ALL THINGS NOT GOOD! INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. MAGA!” Trump posted.
He also accused India of having “the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers” in the world and claimed its tariffs were among the highest globally.
Trump said that while India is a friend of the US, trade between the two countries has remained limited over the years due to India’s high tariffs. He added that at a time when the world wants Russia to end the war in Ukraine, India’s close defense and energy ties with Moscow, including being one of the largest buyers of Russian energy along with China, are problematic.