India's defence deals with Russia, move against dollar 'rub US the wrong way': Lutnick

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick

India’s buying of Russian military equipment and “move to not support the dollar” have posed challenges to ties with the United States and that is “not the way to make friends in America”, US secretary of commerce Howard Lutnick said on June 3.

However, both nations have addressed the concerns and are now in a "really good place", Lutnick said, as the two countries hold discussions to seal the first phase of a trade deal.

"...There were certain things that the Indian government did that generally rubbed the United States the wrong way. For instance, you generally buy your military gear from Russia. That's a way to kind of get under the skin of America if you're going to buy your armaments from Russia,” Lutnick said during an event in Washington DC.

“I think India starting to move towards buying military equipment from the United States, which then goes a long way. And these kinds of things just creating that relationship being a part of BRICS, which is, oh, let's move to not support the dollar and dollar hegemony. That's not really the way to make friends and influence people in America,” he added.

Lutnick said President Donald Trump has called out these issues “directly and specifically” and New Delhi is now addressing them.

“And that's how you move on to a really positive place. Put it on the table, address it straight on, resolve it straight on and get to a really good place. And I think that's where we are."

Trump has on several occasions accused BRICS member countries, which includes India and China, of trying to find an alternative to the US dollar for global trade. He also threatened 100 or even 150 percent tariffs should the grouping go ahead with "de-dollarisation".

BRICS is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The group of emerging countries was founded in 2009 and has since expanded to BRICS+, which includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Indonesia. Saudi Arabia has accepted the membership but has not formally joined yet.

Lutnick also said a trade deal between the two countries could be inked in the “not-too-distant-future” as Washington and New Delhi have found a way that works for both.

With agency inputs