New York/Washington, February 10 India has already begun "winding down" its purchases of Russian oil, and New Delhi is "stepping up" its purchases of energy from the United States and other sources, according to United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer, who made the statement on Tuesday.
In a phone call between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, India and the US reached a framework for an Interim Agreement on reciprocal trade and reaffirmed their commitment to broader US-India Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) negotiations.
Trump also agreed to remove the punitive 25 per cent tariff on imports from India in "recognition of India's commitment to stop purchasing" Russian oil.
In response to a question during an interview with Fox Business, Greer stated: "The short answer is yes. They have already begun winding down their purchases of Russian energy products. They have started increasing their purchases of American energy and energy from other sources."
Greer said that the US has discussed oil purchases from Venezuela with India and added that before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, "Indians did not really procure Russian oil. It is really a consequence of the Russia-Ukraine war and the discounted oil they could get."
He said that India was refining oil from Russia and selling it to Europeans.
"In essence, Europe and India were supporting Russia's war in Ukraine," he added.
He said that India "is truly committed. They have already started expanding some of their commitments regarding purchases."
Greer said that India has removed some digital services taxes and is reducing tariffs.
"This will be a very important deal, and it will have a long-lasting impact," he added.
When asked about corporate America's concerns about China and its search for an "off-ramp" in terms of manufacturing, and whether India could provide that base for supply chains being moved out of China,
Greer said, "They have a lot of people there. They have manufacturing capacity. Of course, we want to make sure that American manufacturing comes first. The American worker comes first, but certainly to the extent we are going to import from other countries, India can be a good source as long as it is balanced and fair."