India diversifying away from Russian oil, says Trump aide, Jamieson Greer

US President Donald Trump’s trade representative, Jamieson Greer, has said that India has started to diversify away from Russian oil, adding that New Delhi has been pragmatic about the issue.

‘India buying Russian oil for reselling’

Clarifying that the Trump administration was not trying to dictate sovereign countries, Greer argued that India, over the last two to three years, has been buying huge quantities of Russian oil not only for consumption but also for refining and reselling.

The Trump aide argued that the US was not trying to dictate terms to other countries, but was trying to ensure that Russian President Vladimir Putin felt maximum pressure in a bid to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“That being said, the Indians are being pragmatic… Frankly, I can see them starting to diversify. I think they get it. Obviously, they are a sovereign country. They are going to control their decisions,” said Greer in an interview at the Economic Club of New York.

“President Trump is focused on the issue of ending the Russia-Ukraine war. We are not trying to dictate to other countries with whom they can have relations and with whom they can’t. That’s not what we are trying to do. But we are trying to make sure that Vladimir Putin feels as much pressure as possible,” he added.

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‘Reciprocal tariff for trade imbalance’

As for President Trump’s decision to impose 50 per cent tariffs on India, Greer pointed out that 25 per cent of the tariffs are reciprocal tariffs aimed at addressing the trade imbalance between India and the US.

“India is a country that has a $40 billion trade surplus with us. So they have a great deal with the United States. They sell us a lot more than we sell to them,” said Greer.

“We have actually been having conversations with India from day one of the administration on the trade side of the ledger. So we talk about a 50 per cent tariff on India, and half of that is trade-related, it’s the reciprocal tariffs. It’s where we are trying to negotiate a deal,” he added.

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‘India hasn’t always bought Russian oil’

Greer argued that despite having traditionally strong ties with Russia, India has not always bought such huge quantities of oil from Moscow, adding that it was only in the last two to three years that India’s Russian oil purchases have shot up.

“And then there is the additional 25 per cent is for the huge increase in purchase of Russian oil that India has made. I mean, India has not always bought so much of Russian oil. They always have a strong relationship with Russia. But it's only in the two or three years that they started buying Russian oil at a discount, not only for consumption but also for reselling and resell. So it’s not like this is a bedrock part of the Indian economy,” said Greer.

“I mean, India has not always bought so much of Russian oil. They always have a strong relationship with Russia. But it’s only in the two or three years that they started buying Russian oil at a discount, not only for consumption but also for reselling and resell. So it’s not like this is a bedrock part of the Indian economy,” he added.

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The backdrop

Greer’s comments come at a time when Trump has gone back and forth with his views on the recent warming of ties among India, Russia and China, especially following the bonhomie seen among Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the SCO Summit. Trump had initially said that India and Russia had been lost to “deepest, darkest” China, only to backtrack a day after.