TOI correspondent from Washington: Irked by India’s dogged refusal to conclude a trade deal on his terms, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday taunted New Delhi by weaponising an oil exploration deal with Pakistan, jibing that Islamabad may be selling oil to India someday. At the same time, frustrated by his inability to force Moscow to end its war on Ukraine, he also petulantly unloaded on India for buying oil from Russia, saying “they can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.”At a White House presser, Trump also publicly identified India’s membership of BRICS as another irritant, calling it an anti-American group that was trying to undermine the US dollar even though none of the countries in the covey have suggested as much, and he has concluded opaque or vaguely-defined trade deals with China, Brazil, and South Korea. White House officials indicated that India’s refusal to do even a framework agreement before the August 1 deadline had frustrated Trump and triggered the outburst, while acknowledging that negotiations are still in progress. The MAGA supremo’s pique over India’s stance has been on full display over the past 48 hours as he excoriated a country he still referred to as a “friend” while insisting the two sides were continuing talks to conclude a deal, with analysts seeing the tantrum as a pressure tactic aimed at bullying New Delhi. But with hours to go for his self-imposed August 1 deadline to conclude trade deals and India not even offering a fig-leaf of a sketchy agreement that the EU, Japan and other countries have, to assuage him, Trump turned up the heat on New Delhi, jeapordising more than 25 years of rebuilding and uptick in ties after India’s 1998 nuclear test. Most jarring was his barb about potential future oil sales to India by Pakistan, a country he not so long ago called a terrorist haven that has given the US “nothing but lies & deceit.” In a social media post, he announced a US deal with Pakistan. saying the two countries will work together on developing Pakistan’s “massive” oil reserves, and the US is in the process of choosing the Oil Company that will lead the Partnership. “Who knows, maybe they’ll be selling Oil to India some day!” he gibed. According to industry estimates, India’s proven reserves are 13–30 times larger than Pakistan’s, depending on the source (4.73–5.85 billion barrels vs. 193–353.5 million barrels). Even at the higher end of Pakistan’s estimates, India’s reserves dwarf them. Pakistan has frequently boasted of large unproven reserves, but industry analysts say these are speculative and require billions of dollars and years of exploration to realize it. India currently produces 1.02 million barrels per day but consumes 4.44 million bpd, while Pakistan produces 88,262 bpd against 556,000 bpd consumption. large unproven reserves, but these are speculative and require $5 billion and 4–5 years for exploration.Aside from his ire about BRICS, oil is the slippery slope that the two sides are sliding down in relation to India’s purchase of oil from Russia, whose leader Vladimir Putin was his bestie till recently. “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care,” Trump raged churlishly. By all accounts, including by US experts, IMF, and World Bank, India’s economy is far from dead, and remains one of the fastest growing in the world, clocking 6+ per cent.Despite India being U.S’ 9th largest trade partner, with more than $130b in bilateral commerce, Trump also claimed “We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World.” “Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let’s keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he’s still President, to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory!” he wrote, lashing out at a Putin ally who has frequently threatened US with nuclear consequences. Trump’s angry burst of recrimination was fueled among others by South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham, long considered a war monger, who said the MAGA Supremo’s approach to India “is the best way to achieve peace in the Russia-Ukraine war, and open up more markets for American goods.”“President Trump is putting a 25% tariff on India plus an unspecified penalty for their trade protectionism and for being one of biggest purchasers of Russian energy, fueling Putin’s war machine. Mr. President, you’re spot in your approach to bringing this war to an end and opening up the world to American products. Tariffs away!” he wrote.
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