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New Delhi: Hours after US President Donald Trump declared that Washington had "lost India to China", Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick warned that New Delhi would eventually be forced to "say sorry" and strike a deal with Washington. He also described India as the "vowel" between Russia and China in the BRICS grouping.
"I think yes, in a month or two months, 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.
Drawing a parallel with Canada, Lutnick said Ottawa had dropped its "elbows up" stance against Washington once its economy began to suffer. "It's all bravado, because you think it feels good to fight with the biggest client in the world. But eventually your businesses are going to say you've got to stop this and go make a deal with America," he added.
The commerce secretary also hit out at India's rising dependence on Russian oil, noting that before the Ukraine war, New Delhi sourced less than 2 per cent of its crude from Russia, compared to about 40 per cent now. "What they're doing is, because the oil is sanctioned, it's really, really cheap… And so the Indians have just decided, 'Ah, the heck with it. Let's buy it cheap and make a ton of money,'" he said, calling the move "wrong" and "ridiculous".
When asked about prospects of talks, Lutnick said the US was "always willing to talk", stressing that Washington remained the world's biggest market. "The Chinese sell to us. The Indians sell to us. They’re not going to be able to sell to each other. We are the consumer of the world… eventually the customer is always right," he said.
On India's role in BRICS, Lutnick remarked: "They're the vowel between Russia and China. If that's who you want to be, go be it. But either support the dollar, support the United States, support your biggest client -- the American consumer -- or you're going to pay a 50 per cent tariff. And let's see how long this lasts."
Earlier in the day, Trump posted on Truth Social: "Looks like we've lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest China. May they have a long and prosperous future together."
India, however, has defended its Russian oil purchases, maintaining that energy procurement is guided by national interest and market dynamics. Trump has already imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods -- one of the steepest globally -- including a 25 per cent penalty for buying Russian crude.
