‘We need to fix India’: Howard Lutnick urges New Delhi to ‘play ball’ with Trump; ‘avoid policies that harm US’ – The Times of India

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 engaged in productive discussions aimed at strengthening bilateral trade and investment ties, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said on September 26.