EAM Jaishankar says Russian oil wrongly projected as issue in US Tariff row
NEW DELHI : External Affairs Minister Dr.S Jaishankar on Saturday said that US President Donald Trump has a very public way of conducting his foreign policy, including on trade matters. The Union minister indicated that the issue of India buying Russian oil was not discussed prior to Trump’s announcement, which raised tariffs on India to 50 percent.
Speaking at the Economic Times World Leaders Forum 2025, the EAM highlighted that Trump, in majority of the cases, conducts his foreign policy very publicly.
“We’ve not had a US President who’s conducted foreign policy as publicly as the current one. That itself is a departure that’s not limited to India,” said Jaishankar
The EAM added that there has not been a US president that conducts their domestic matters has publicly as Trump does.
“President Trump’s way of dealing with the world, even dealing with his own country, is a very major departure from the traditional orthodox manner of doing so,” he said.
Speaking on Trump’s tariff, the minister added that Trump’s use of tariffs for trade and non-trade matters is novel. The EAM added that the first pronouncement from the Trump admin is often made first in public, and then to the concerned party.
“The fact that a lot of this is said in public. Often, the first pronouncement in public is even more unusual. This is a situation which the entire world is facing,” said Jaishankar.
EAM highlights three key issues
The EAM highlighted three issues when it comes to Trump and India, the first being trade.
“Negotiations (India-US trade negotiations) are still going on. But the bottom line is we have some red lines. Negotiations are still going on in the sense that nobody said the negotiations are off. People do talk to each other. It’s not like there’s a ‘kutti’ there… Where we are concerned, the red lines are primarily the interests of our farmers and, to some extent, of our small producers,” said Jaishankar.
The second issue is “being presented” as an oil issue. As per the EAM, the ‘same arguments which are being used to target India have not been applied to the largest oil importer – China and the largest energy importer, which is the European Union.”
While referring to the percentage of India’s oil purchase made by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the EAM stated that – “If the argument is percentage of increase– yes, some countries have not increased their percentage because they have gone and bought oil from Iran, to which the Americans also have an objection,” said Jaishankar.
The union minister also shared that with the Biden administration knew about India’s oil trade with Russia through a series of “explicit conversations,” following which, a price cap came into being.
The third issue was regarding mediation, to which the minister said that the Indian government does not accept any external mediation, especially when it comes to its relationship with Pakistan.
While referring to the percentage of India’s oil purchase made by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the EAM stated that – “If the argument is percentage of increase– yes, some countries have not increased their percentage because they have gone and bought oil from Iran, to which the Americans also have an objection,” said Jaishankar.
The union minister also shared that with the Biden administration knew about India’s oil trade with Russia through a series of “explicit conversations,” following which, a price cap came into being.
The third issue was regarding mediation, to which the minister said that the Indian government does not accept any external mediation, especially when it comes to its relationship with Pakistan.