Agri, Russia oil, Pak mediation: EAM flags red lines for US ties

India has certain “red lines” in its negotiations for a trade deal with the US and it will stand firm in protecting the interests of farmers and small producers, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday, days before additional American tariffs on Indian goods are set to kick in. He termed the tariffs “unjustified and unreasonable”.

He listed three issues to explain the recent upheaval in the India-US relations — red lines in opening specific sectors for US goods in India, Russian crude oil and India’s insistence on not accepting mediation with Pakistan.

On trade negotiations, he said the two sides were still talking. “Negotiations are still going on. Nobody said the negotiations were off. People do talk to each other. We are two big countries, it’s not like there’s a ‘kutti’ (no communication).”

He said India’s red lines were primarily in the interests of farmers and small producers, and New Delhi would not compromise on their interests. “As a government, we are committed to defending the interests of our farmers and small producers,” Jaishankar said while speaking at a media event.

He said the second issue — tariffs — was “being presented” as an oil issue. “The same arguments that have been used to target India have not been applied to the largest oil importer — China — and have not been applied to the largest LNG importer — European nations,” he said.

Two days ago in Russia, Jaishankar had said the US punitive measures against India were “perplexing”.

Jaishankar said the Joe Biden administration knew about India’s oil trade with Russia through a series of “explicit conversations”, following which a price cap came into being. The Russian oil was capped at $60 a barrel and had now been reduced.

The third issue was regarding mediation. The minister said India did not accept any external mediation, especially when it came to its relationship with Pakistan.

Jaishankar said India had every right to take decisions in its national interests. “The decisions we take in our national interests are our right. And I would say that’s what strategic autonomy is about,” he said.

Earlier this week, Jaishankar visited Russia, where he met Russian President Vladimir Putin, Deputy First PM Denis Manturov and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He also co-chaired the 26th session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation.