Rubio heads to India to pursue economic opportunities amid US tariff pause

WASHINGTON, DC, Oct 18: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has left the US for his visit to Uzbekist and and India. Rubio left from the Joint Base Andrews late on Saturday (local time) and will be in India on October 20.

"Just departed for Uzbekistan and India to continue securing the Trump Administration's economic opportunities for our nation," Rubio said ahead of his departure.

Meanwhile, a day after US President Donald Trump waived several sanctions related to Russian fuel sales that were to take effect under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, Rubio described India as an important ally whose energy needs must be considered before putting any tariffs or sanctions in place.

The law, which has now been paused, would have imposed tariffs of up to 100% on goods brought into the US from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas which includes India and China.

Rubio who is scheduled to visit India and more importantly Jamnagar, home to one of the world's largest refineries, later this month, said that the US President wants to use a 60-day window to analyse what imposing the tariffs would mean.

"These sanctions were not just sanctions on Russia. They include tariffs on a number of countries—India, for example, and others. And so I think the president wants to take the 60-day period of time to sort of analyse what imposing both sanctions and tariffs will mean to the global economy and even to the U.S. economy," Rubio said.

"You've got countries like India, for example, that have voluntarily diversified their energy portfolio, but are still getting a substantial amount of energy from Russia because it's hard to pivot from one day to the next. But they're also an important ally and partner of the United States. So we need that period of time to sort of study all this and figure out what the right combination is," he added.

During his India visit, Rubio will meet senior government officials to "strengthen the US-India strategic partnership, exchange views on regional and global dynamics, and discuss prospects for enhanced energy cooperation", the US State department said.

The US Secretary of State will also meet business leaders to promote opportunities for commercial investment and economic cooperation between the two countries.

Before arriving in India, Rubio will participate in the C5+1 Ministerial in Uzbekistan, where he will highlight how strategic cooperation through the diplomatic platform promotes "a more peaceful and prosperous future for the United States and the countries of Central Asia".

The External Affairs Ministry said that Rubio's visit to India would provide an opportunity for both nations to review bilateral ties and explore avenues to further strengthen the Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.

"In so far as the visit of the Secretary of State is concerned, this forthcoming visit will provide an opportunity for both sides to review India-US relations and discuss ways to further strengthen the Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership that we have with the United States. Discussions are expected to cover key areas of our bilateral cooperation, including energy, trade, investment, defence, critical emerging technologies and other areas of mutual interest. The two sides will also exchange views on regional and global developments. The visit will provide an opportunity to sustain the high-level engagement between the two countries and advance our shared priorities," the MEA spokesperson said in a news briefing.

During his visit, Rubio is scheduled to meet senior government officials to consolidate the US-India strategic partnership, share perspectives on regional and global dynamics, and discuss prospects for enhanced energy cooperation.