Piyush Goyal's cryptic warning to the US on Russia ties: 'India decides its friends based on national interest, not somebody's...'

In a clear pushback to the United States's tariff threats, Union Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal said India does not do "trade deals in a hurry" or with a "gun to our head". Goyal's comments come as the US is threatening additional tariffs on India over its trade ties with Russia.

Addressing the Berlin Dialogue in Germany, Goyal said trade deals should be approached with a long-term perspective, and they cannot be done "in the heat of the moment."

Adding India is actively negotiating trade pacts with the European Union and the US, Goyal said, "We are in active dialogue with the EU. We are talking to the US, but we do not do deals in a hurry and we do not do deals with deadlines or with a gun to our head."

Goyal said India is looking at newer markets to overcome the high tariffs the US has imposed on the country, over its trade deal with Russia. "I do not think India has ever decided who its friends will be based on any other considerations other than national interest... and somebody tells me you can't be friends with the EU, I won't accept that, or somebody tells me tomorrow, I can't work with Kenya, it's not acceptable," Goyal clarified.

On India continuing to buy Russian oil and US President Trump's call to end it, Goyal said, "The decision to buy a particular product from a country is something that the entire world will have to take a call on."

India is negotiating a bilateral free trade agreement with the US, and it has reportedly hit a roadblock owing to India's refusal to import agricultural products from the US. The US also wants India to sever its defence and trade ties with Russia. The US has alleged India's oil trade with Russia is fuelling Moscow's war against Ukraine.