The United States has signalled it may be willing to revisit the additional 25 percent tariffs imposed on India over its purchases of Russian oil.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with NBC News, “We have already seen the measures we have taken with regards to India, although that’s something we hope we can fix.”
His remarks came soon after a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New York. Rubio described India as “critical” to the United States and welcomed the ongoing trade and economic engagement.
Jaishankar later posted on X that their conversation “covered a range of bilateral and international issues of current concern” and that both sides agreed on the importance of sustained engagement to make progress on priority areas.
Rubio, while discussing the war in Ukraine, also pointed to what he called Europe’s insufficient response. “Right now, there are countries in Europe that are still buying massive amounts of oil and natural gas from Russia, which is absurd. They’re asking for the US to impose more sanctions, but there are countries in Europe that are not doing enough,” he said.
He added that President Trump was considering further action: “At some point, he may have to decide to impose new sanctions. The President has the ability to do more, and he’s considering doing more because of the direction this has taken.”
Alongside these discussions, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal met US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Monday in New York to negotiate the first tranche of a trade agreement. According to sources, the talks focused on resolving key sticking points, and both sides remain hopeful of reaching an interim understanding soon.
