Trump disappointed as India continues to fund Russia's Ukraine war: Kevin Hassett

White House Economic Advisor Kevin Hassett said Donald Trump and his administration are "disappointed" with India’s continued imports of Russian oil but remain hopeful that bilateral relations can improve. His remarks came just hours after Trump shared a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping at the Tianjin meet, declaring that the United States had "lost" India and Russia to "the darkest China."

Speaking at a media interaction, Hassett said, "I think that the trade team and the President are disappointed that India continues to fund Russia's Ukraine warHopefully, it's a democratic issue, and we'll have positive developments."

The United States has accused India of profiting from discounted Russian crude, an allegation Indian officials have rejected. New Delhi has argued that the country is being unfairly singled out, especially when European nations continue to buy Russian gas in large quantities.

When asked about Trump’s Truth Social post earlier in the day, where Trump wrote, "Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!", Hassett said, "Well, we're certainly hoping that it improves."

TARIFFS DEEPEN TRADE TENSIONS

The US first imposed a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods last month, followed by an additional 25 per cent penalty over New Delhi’s oil purchases from Russia, bringing the total tariffs on Indian exports to 50 per cent.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) responded strongly, calling the move "unjustified and unreasonable." The MEA statement underlined that like any major economy, India would take "all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security."

India also pointed to trade patterns in the West to counter Washington’s criticism. According to the MEA, the European Union recorded goods trade with Russia worth 67.5 billion in 2024, along with services trade estimated at 17.2 billion in 2023. It also highlighted that European imports of Russian LNG reached a record 16.5 million tonnes in 2024, higher than the previous record of 15.21 million tonnes in 2022.

US SEMICONDUCTOR TARIFF PUSH

Apart from trade tensions, Hassett also discussed the US economic situation. He revealed that tariff proposals for semiconductors would soon be presented to President Trump, with possible exemptions for companies investing in the United States.

Hassett called the latest US jobs report underwhelming. "I expect it’s going to revise up. President Trump knows that we're super optimistic about the future of the jobs numbers because we're seeing a massive blowout in capital spending and new factory and construction, something that can happen because of the tax reforms that we had," he said.

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With inputs from agencies