US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick predicted on Friday that India would return to the negotiating table within two months to strike a trade deal with Washington, warning that the country must choose between aligning with the United States or deepening ties with Russia and China.
“So, I think yes, in a month or two months, I think India is going to be at the table, and they’re going to say they’re sorry, and they’re going to try to make a deal with Donald Trump,” Lutnick told Bloomberg in an interview.
Lutnick described India as the “vowel” in the BRICS grouping, positioned between Russia and China, and said Washington expects clarity on New Delhi’s geopolitical alignment.
“If that’s who you want to be, go be it,” he warned, adding that India faces the risk of a 50% tariff on exports if it does not back the US dollar and American consumers.
His remarks came shortly after President Donald 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!”
Lutnick emphasised that both India and China rely heavily on the US market, citing America’s $30 trillion economy. “We are the consumer of the world… eventually the customer is always right,” he said, underscoring that Washington is willing to engage in talks but expects concessions.
Echoing Trump, Lutnick criticised India’s surging purchases of Russian crude oil. “Before the Russian conflict, India bought less than two per cent of its oil from Russia and now they’re buying 40%,” he noted. (Inputs from HT)
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