Mere moments after President Donald Trump took to social media Friday to complain about having “lost” India to China, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered a vicious snub to the Trump administration on an issue that has sparked the president’s fury.
The Trump administration has slapped India with its highest tariff rate of 50%; a 25% baseline tariff, and an additional 25% secondary tariff as a penalty for its continued purchasing of Russian oil. Trump was reportedly “completely upset” with India over its refusal to halt its purchasing of Russian oil, and Friday, bemoaned the two countries’ “lost” relationship.
Just moments after Trump’s social media musings, however, India defied Trump yet again, with Sitharaman declaring that India would continue to do “what suits us best.”
“Where we buy our oil from, especially a big-ticket foreign exchange item where we pay so much, highest in terms of import, we will have to take a call on what suits us best,” Sitharaman said, speaking in a televised interview on Friday, Bloomberg reported. “We will undoubtedly be buying.”
India had already responded to the Trump administration’s steep tariffs, halting the purchase of billions of dollars’ worth of American-made weapons. The nation paused a previously-planned purchase of Boeing planes, Javelin missiles and combat vehicles in early August, a decision that will likely land a significant blow to American arms manufacturers, with India being the world’s second-largest arms importer.
The snub also comes in the wake of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit this week in eastern China, further forming a wedge between the United States and India.