‘Big mistake on India’: Ex-US official says Trump admin is ‘pissing off’ allies amid trade talks
Former US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo criticized President Donald Trump-led administration, particularly regarding its moves against India. Amid ongoing trade negotiations between New Delhi and Washington, she said that the administration made a “big mistake” with India.
Her remarks came months after Trump slapped 50 % Tariffs on India, half of them for doing oil trade with Russia. She accused the President of “pissing off” allies, further adding that America comes off as weak if it isn’t a good ally or friend to other nations.
“On my list of top 20 things that I would be critical of this administration for is pissing off all of our allies. America First is one thing. America Alone is a disastrous policy,” Gina Raimondo said.
She further said that the US administration cannot be effective without strong relations with Europe or southeast Asia. The ex-US official suggested that the country could do a lot more with the economies of Europe, or countries like Japan and South Korea.
Concluding her remarks, she also referenced India, and said: “I think we’re making a big mistake with India”.
Gina Raimondo’s remarks also follow Trump’s repeated assertions that India would soon end its oil trade with Russia, and the US’s subsequent blacklisting of two Russian energy giants, largely seen as a pressure tactic on Vladimir Putin amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
With Rosneft and Lukoil this month, and Surgutneftegas and Gazprom Neft sanctioned by outgoing President Joe Biden in January, four oil producers, accounting for just under 70% of Russia’s total oil exports, have been sanctioned by the US.
According to a Bloomberg report, these four firms accounted for more than 80% of India’s Russian oil imports in 2024.
Gina Raimondo held the US Secretary of Commerce post in Joe Biden’s administration. She also met Union Minister Piyush Goyal in November last year and they talked about ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in sensitive defence and tech sectors.
Howard Lutnick replaced Raimondo as the Commerce Secretary after Trump assumed office for his second term earlier this year. Unlike Raimondo, Lutnick has had a critical approach towards India in terms of tariffs.
Just days after the 50% tariffs on India were imposed, Lutnick had defended the move, repeating the condition for India to stop buying Russian oil in order to arrive at a trade deal with the US.
However, amid Trump’s big claims on India-Russia oil trade ties, Piyush Goyal recently clarified that India will not be pressured into signing a trade deal. “We are talking to the United States, of course, but we don’t do deals in a hurry, and we don’t do deals with deadlines or with a gun on our head,” he had said last week.