‘We need to fix India’: Howard Lutnick urges New Delhi to ‘play ball’ with Trump; ‘avoid policies that harm US’
Donald Trump‘s commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, on Sunday said India must “react correctly” to the United States, adding that “we need to fix a bunch of countries,” amid the ongoing trade tensions demanding an end to policies “harming” American interests.In an interview with News Nation, Lutnick stated that India must open its markets and avoid policies that could “harm” the US. “We have a bunch of countries to fix like Switzerland, Brazil, right? It’s got an issue. India, these are countries that need to really react correctly to America. Open their markets, stop taking actions that harm America, and that’s why we’re off sides with them,” he said.He added that while trade issues can be resolved over time, India must “play ball” with the US if it wants access to American consumers. “Those, I think, will be sorted out, but they take time. And these countries have to understand that if you want to sell to the US consumer, right? You’ve got to play ball with the president of the United States. So those are still coming. A bunch of countries left but the big ones maybe the big ones you know India we’ll sort it out over time,” Lutnick noted.He further claimed that, “2026 economy is Donald Trump’s economy.”The remarks come shortly after a high-level Indian delegation, led by commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, visited the United States. The delegation held productive talks to strengthen bilateral trade and investment ties, the commerce ministry said in a statement on September 26.This is not the first time Lutnick has criticised India. He has repeatedly ramped up pressure, even as President Trump has taken a calmer approach. Earlier, Lutnick threatened to “sort out” India over its purchases of Russian oil, saying New Delhi would “say sorry” and reach a deal with Trump within a month or two. This comes as Trump administration imposed an additional 25% tariff on India over its crude oil purchases from Russia.“I think India is going to be at the table and they’re going to say they’re sorry and they’re going to try to make a deal with Donald Trump,” he had told Bloomberg.Lutnick, along with White House trade counselor Peter Navarro and Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, are seen as provocateurs riling up the President on trade issues, although some analysts reckon they are only laying out his strategy of playing hardball with tough language.Also read: Pakistan plays ‘Trump card’, flashes mineral wealth in the White House
