Nikki Haley Asks India to Take Trump’s View on Russian Oil ‘Seriously’

“India must take Trump's point over Russian oil seriously,” said Republican leader Nikki Haley, adding that New Delhi must work with the White House to find a solution, “sooner the better”.  “Navigating issues like trade disagreements and Russian oil imports demands hard dialogue,” Haley posted on social media on Saturday (local time).

She posted on X a portion of the opinion piece she wrote last week for Newsweek amid strain in ties between the two countries after President Donald Trump slapped 50% tariff on Indian goods.

Haley has been facing criticism within her party for favouring India amid tariff tensions between the two countries.

In her article Haley said, “Trump is right to target India's massive Russian oil purchases, which are helping to fund Vladimir Putin's brutal war against Ukraine.”  However, she added that India must be treated like the “prized free and democratic partner that it is—not an adversary like China.” Haley highlighted decades of “friendship and goodwill” between India and the US, the world's two largest democracies.  It provides a “solid basis to move past the current turbulence,” she added.   She said that the US and India “should not lose sight of what matters most: our shared goals.” “To face China, the United States must have a friend in India,” she added.  “India stands alone in its potential to manufacture at China-like scale for products that can't be quickly or efficiently produced here(in the US),” Haley said in her article.   Haley, the former Governor of South Carolina, was the US Ambassador to the United Nations under Trump’s first presidential term, becoming the first Indian-American to be appointed to a cabinet-level post in the US administration.

In 2013, she officially announced her candidacy for the 2024 presidential election and withdrew from the race in March last year.  President Trump has doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50%, including a 25% additional duties for India's purchase of Russian crude oil that will come into effect from August 27.

Defending its purchase of Russian crude oil, India has been maintaining that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamics.

India turned to purchasing Russian oil sold at a discount after Western countries imposed sanctions on Moscow and shunned its supplies over its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.