EAM criticizes US tariff hike “If you have problem buying oil from India, don’t buy it”

By Anjali Sharma

WASHINGTON – External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday criticized the United States’ decision to impose 25 per cent additional tariffs on Indian goods for purchase of Russian oil, as he asserted that India would continue to take decisions independently on energy.

Jaishankar also firmly dismissed claims made by US President Donald Trump regarding American mediation in resolving the brief conflict between India and Pakistan in May this year.

Defending India’s energy ties with Russia, Jaishankar said oil purchases serve both national and global interests by stabilizing prices.

“It’s funny to have people who work for a pro-business American administration accusing other people of doing business. If you have a problem buying oil or refined products from India, don’t buy it,” he said at a media event.

“Nobody forces you to buy it. Europe buys, America buys, so you don’t like it, don’t buy it,” he said.

“That time, it was said that if India wants to buy Russian oil, let them, because that would stabilize prices,” Jaishankar said, adding that India is “buying oil to stabilize the oil prices. Yes, it is in our national interest but it is also in a global interest”.

EAM said India’s priority was to protect farmers and small producers, stressing that New Delhi would not compromise on their interests.

“What we are concerned about is that red lines are primarily the interest of our farmers and, to some extent, our small producers. So when people pronounce that we have succeeded or failed, we as a government are committed to defending the interests of our farmers and small producers. We are determined on that. That’s not something we can compromise,” Jaishankar said.

Jaishankar argued that the tariff issue was being wrongly presented as an “oil dispute.”

He noted that the same criticism leveled at India for purchasing Russian energy had not been applied to larger importers, such as China and European nations.

“The second issue is that this is being presented as an oil issue. But why I say ‘being presented’ is because the same arguments that have been used to target India have not been applied to the largest oil importer, which is China, and have not been applied to the largest LNG importer, which is the European nations,” he said.

Jaishankar pointed out the contradiction in the West’s stance, saying Europe trades far more with Russia than India does.

“And when people say we are funding the war and putting the money, Russia-European trade is bigger than India-Russia trade. So European money is not putting coffers? The overall Russia-EU trade is bigger than the Russia-India trade. If the argument is energy, they (EU) are bigger buyers. If the argument is who is the bigger trader, they are bigger than us. India’s exports to Russia have grown, but not that much,” he added.

He reiterated India’s long-standing policy of rejecting any third-party involvement in bilateral issues with Pakistan.

Jaishankar refuted President Trump’s repeated assertions that America had played a role in defusing tensions during the four-day India-Pakistan conflict in May.

He clarified, “On the issue of mediating (India-Pak conflict), since 1970s, for more than 50 years now, there’s a national consensus in this country that we do not accept mediation in our relations with Pakistan.”