India-US trade deal highlights | Foreign secretary Misri says ‘national interest’ guiding factor for oil procurement

INdia-US merchandise trade highlights: strange secretarial assistant Vikram Misri on mon said that India will maintain multiple sources of energy and diversify them to ensure stability, with national interest guiding all purchases.This came amid controversy over US claims of India ending Russian crude purchases as part of a trade deal with Washington.Lok Sabha on Monday adjourned till tomorrow after it reconvened its session at 2 pm as oppositions demanded a discussion on the India-US interim trade framework. Shashi Tharoor urged the Chair, Sandhya Ray, to allow the Leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi, to raise certain points before his speech. Ray said she had no objection if Gandhi wished to speak on the Budget and asked him to begin.Gandhi said an agreement was reached with Speaker Om Birla and opposition MPs allowing him to raise issues before the Budget discussion, but Ray said she was unaware of any such agreement and could not permit issues without prior notice.In the Rajya Sabha, opposition members on Monday staged a walkout from the House while raising the issue of LoP Mallikarjun Kharge not being allowed to speak.India-US trade interim agreementUS President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the long-awaited India-US trade deal last week. As per the deal, the US says India will stop buying Russian oil, and President Trump will remove the 25 per cent tariff he imposed on India over its energy purchase from Russia.Key pointsThe announcement of the trade deal was followed by a joint statement on the “framework” for an “interim agreement” aimed at reciprocal trade.The framework will reduce the US tariffs on India to 18 per cent.India also intends to purchase USD 500 billion of US energy products, aircraft and aircraft parts, precious metals, technology products, and coking coal over the next five years.Following Trump's claims, the Ministry of External Affairs said that India will continue to put its 1.4 billion population as a top priority. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "Ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion is the supreme priority of the government."On Saturday, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal conducted a detailed press conference, explaining key provisions of the interim agreement, including announcing zero tariff reductions and zero-duty items.A day earlier, he also held an interview with ANI in which Goyal assured safeguards for farmers in the trade deal, adding that US markets would provide farmers with “much bigger value.”