India committed to stopping Russia oil buys: US fact sheet

The White House released a fact sheet late on Monday asserting India has committed to stop purchasing Russian oil, reduce tariffs on “certain pulses”, and ending digital services taxes — claims the Indian government has not officially confirmed and that do not appear in the bilateral joint statement released by both countries last week.

- Shashank Mattoo and Rezaul H Laskar

The fact sheet and an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Friday both state India “has committed to stop directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil” in exchange for removing a 25% tariff penalty. However, the February 7 India-US joint statement makes no mention of Russian oil purchases or any Indian pledge to halt them. The fact sheet said the two sides reached a framework for an interim deal after Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on a call.

India has not confirmed it will eliminate Russian energy purchases. Foreign secretary Vikram Misri said on Monday that oil purchases were made by private companies based on "market conditions" and that "national interest will continue to guide our choices." There was no official word on the fact sheet from the commerce and external affairs ministries on Tuesday. People familiar with the matter said the fact sheet appeared to be a reiteration of points raised by Trump and other American officials since the two sides first announced a trade deal on February 2, and was more a reflection of the American side's views. The India-US joint statement issued on February 7 remained the main document on the trade deal, they said.

"The fact sheet refers to several things brought up by Trump since February 2, including the purchase of more than $500 billion of US goods such as energy, ICT, coal, agricultural and other products over the next five years. We have made it clear that this is an intention and there will certainly be more purchases as trade grows," one of the people said.

"Also on the call, President Trump agreed to remove the additional 25% tariff on imports from India in recognition of India's commitment to stop purchasing Russian Federation oil," the latest White House document stated.