A narrative rift has emerged on multiple fronts in New Delhi and Washington in the week since President Donald Trump announced a trade deal and tariff rollback, which was later confirmed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal raises questions about Russian oil: Will India stop buying it, as Trump has claimed, Or continue anyway?
Union Minister Piyush Goyal speaking on the framework of India-US trade agreement at Vainjya Bhavan in New Delhi. (Archived Khanna/HT file image)However, the Trump administration has announced a complete freeze on Russian oil imports Conditions of contractNew Delhi’s chief negotiator, Piyush Goyal, has so far remained diplomatic about it, saying only that India can “diversify” its energy source destinations. Goyal also claimed that there is a misunderstanding about the Russian oil issue and the trade deal.
Also at the center of the issue Trump’s True Social Posts and next executive order He signed.
First, what Goyal saidPiyush Goyal has remained steadfast in his refusal to link India’s energy procurement to US trade deals. Structure For which the final signature is in progress after some time.
He said in several interviews characterized by As the two issues – oil purchases and trade agreements – are unrelated, “people have mixed up two different issues,” he says. According to Goyal, the trade agreement is a technical framework designed to ensure “preferential access” to the 18% reciprocal tariff for Indian businesses. He argues that this gives Indian exporters a distinct advantage over competitors from other developing countries, naming Asian manufacturing hubs such as Bangladesh and Vietnam.
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Which ministry on which issue?Goyal said the specifics of oil procurement were never on the negotiating table for the deal. “Anyway trade agreements will not discuss who will buy what and from where,” he told news agency ANI, stressing that such decisions are governed by market conditions and national energy security.
He also cited ministerial functions – he handles trade, while the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) handles foreign relations and thus the question of whether or not to deal with Russia. He, however, said it was “in India’s own strategic interest” to buy energy from the US and diversify its supply lines.
The question was straightforward in the ANI interview. If there is a lack of bilateral consensus on Russia’s oil or defense issues, won’t that also affect trade deals? “No, not at all,” replied Goyal.
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MEA, headed by S Jaishankar, stuck to a diplomatic line it has held for months since its imposition in August 50% tariff By Trump – half that rate for Delhi’s oil purchases from Moscow despite the war in Ukraine.
India’s energy purchases will be diversified based on market conditions and international dynamics to ensure the country’s energy security, the MEA said.
A tale of two documentsGoyal said the joint statement on the deal framework did not mention Russian oil. Although there are other official documents.
That is, Donald Trump Title of Executive Order ‘Revising the responsibility of the Government of the Russian Federation to address threats to the United States’.
The order clearly stated that India’s removal of 25% tariffs, imposed on its Russian oil transactions, would help stop financing of Vladimir Putin-led Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Further, it sets a condition for India, and states that this 25% duty may also be imposed again. The text is unequivocal: “India has pledged to stop importing oil directly or indirectly from the Russian Federation.”
To ensure compliance, Trump issued an endorsement observation order, Whereas the US Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, has been tasked with tracking Indian oil imports to verify whether New Delhi “resumes” trade with Russia. In such cases, the US president can re-impose the penalty duties, it said.
Even in his Truth Social post, Trump was rather clear about the link and said that India would now buy from America instead. He wrote that PM Modi had “agreed to stop buying Russian oil and buy more from the US and possibly Venezuela”. The US currently controls Venezuela’s oil by force There is a regime change using military action.
Trump also said that Prime Minister Modi is committed to “buy American” at a much higher level, such as the US shock Ti, $500 billion in technology, agriculture and coal among other things. That was last Monday.
On Friday, Trump signed the order that removed the 25% penalty tariff imposed on India for Russian energy purchases. In this executive order, Trump reiterated: “India has committed to stop importing oil directly or indirectly from the Russian Federation, has represented that it will buy US energy products from the United States, and recently committed to a framework with the United States to expand defense cooperation over the next 10 years.”
D Joint statement Doesn’t actually mention Russia, but it talks about India’s $500-billion commitment to buy from the US over five years. Goyal says this is achievable, although it would mean more than doubling US imports.
Analysts say the stress test is for strategic autonomyStrategic experts and former diplomats suggest that while Piyush Goyal may try to double down on these issues for a domestic audience, the geopolitical reality is rather straightforward.
Brahma Chelani, professor emeritus at the Center for Policy Research, New Delhi, described Trump’s order to monitor India’s oil imports as a “real sting”. He noted that the US administration immediately removed the “tariff loophole”, leaving the “rope firmly in place” if India turns to Russia for oil. Chelanio speculated Substitution of discounted Russian crude with market-priced US oil could add $4 billion a year to India’s import bill.
Nirupama Menon Rao, India’s former foreign secretary, offered a more measured assessment, noting that Trump’s tariff-cutting order signals a world where “energy choices are now treated not just as commercial decisions but as geopolitical behavior”. He argued that India’s cherished policy of strategic autonomy was currently being “stress-tested”.
Still, he observed that the fact that Washington is negotiating shows that “India’s leverage is visible”, and that the country may be moving away from being strategically very important.
Notice of breach of privilege against GoyalThe domestic political theater has become volatile over the issue. On Monday, the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha were rocked by protests, leading to multiple adjournments.
There was also one Notice of Breach of Privilege Tiruchi Siva, a lawmaker from the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu and a major national opposition party against Piyush Goyal.
Siva alleged that the commerce minister showed a “lack of respect” for the House by briefing the media on details of the US trade deal during the parliamentary session. Citing the Parliamentary Conference, the DMK leader sought a formal discussion on the impact of the deal, particularly its potential to harm domestic industries and farmers.
The Lok Sabha was equally chaotic, primarily due to a bitter standoff between Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.
Rahul Gandhi Claims he was given a “personal promise”. Speaker Om Birla to raise specific points on contracts and other sensitive issues before the budget debate.
Rijiju, however, contradicted Rahul Gandhi’s statement, calling it “100 percent false”. Presiding Officer Sandhya Roy finally adjourned the House for the day.
The House was already disrupted after Rahul Gandhi gave a quote Unpublished Autobiography of Former Army Chief General MM Naravaan Questioning the Modi government’s handling of the border dispute with China. The impasse in Parliament originally began on the issue on February 2, hours after the trade deal deal was announced by Trump and confirmed by Prime Minister Modi.
