India Will Make A Deal With Donald Trump 'In A Month Or Two,' Predicts Lutnick: 'They're Going To Say Sorry'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick predicted that India will“say sorry” and try to make a deal with President Donald Trump in a couple of months, as the nation navigates trade tensions and higher 50 per cent tariffs on all Indian goods.

"So, I think yes, in a month or two months, I think 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 said in an interview with Bloomberg.

Also Read | Trump tariffs: India plans relief package for exporters amid 50% US duties

“And it will be on Donald Trump's desk how he wants to deal with (Narendra) Modi, and we leave that to him. That's why he's the President,” Lutnick was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

The US commerce secretary's comments come amid Trump, and his aides repeated criticism of India buying crude oil from Russia at discounted rates.

On Friday, Trump stepped up his criticism of India, claiming that the US had“lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China.”

Notably, in response to a question from news agency ANI about the future of India-US trade talks amid US tariffs on India, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett seemed to echo similar sentiments.

Hassett said that the trade team and President Trump were disappointed with India's continued funding of Russia's war in Ukraine. He expressed hope that the matter would be resolved diplomatically with positive developments soon.

Will US negotiate?

When asked if the US is willing to negotiate with India, Lutnick said,“We're always willing to talk.”

Lutnick claimed that countries like India and China sell goods to the US and ultimately rely on the US market - labelling US as the“consumer of the world.”

Also Read | Trump tells European leaders 'stop buying Russian oil' after India's 50% tariff

“People have to remember, it's our $30 trillion economy that is the consumer of the world. So eventually they all have to come back to the customer, because we all know eventually the customer is always right,” Bloomberg quoted Lutnick as saying.

Also Read | Trump demands EU halt Russian oil imports, urges pressure on China

To substantiate his predictions of India being 'at the negotiating table,' Lutnick even cited the example of Canadian PM Mark Carney, saying he got elected“with this term elbows up, meaning, let's fight with America' but he finally dropped his retaliatory tariffs.

India's stance on Russian oil

Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made it clear that India “will undoubtedly be buying Russian oil," and will always take a call based on 'what suits' the nation's needs in 'terms of rates, logistics'.

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