India gets 6-month US sanctions waiver for Chabahar project, confirms MEA

New Delhi, Oct 30: The United States has granted India a six-month waiver from American sanctions on the Chabahar port project, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Thursday.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed that India’s talks with the US for a trade deal are ongoing. Addressing a press briefing, Jaiswal said that India is closely assessing the implications of the recent US sanctions on Russian oil companies.

“We are studying the implications of the recent US sanctions on Russian oil companies. Our decisions naturally take into account the evolving dynamics of the global market,” Jaiswal said.

He further added that India’s energy policy remains guided by its national interest.

“Our position on the larger question of energy sourcing is well known. In this endeavour, we are guided by the imperative to secure affordable energy from diverse sources to meet the energy security needs of our 1.4 billion people,” he noted.

The Chabahar port project is an international port development initiative in southeastern Iran, strategically partnering Iran and India. 

The development comes amid rising trade tensions between New Delhi and Washington. President Donald Trump recently imposed a 50% trade tariff on India, comprising 25% reciprocal tariffs and another 25% penalty over India’s continued imports of Russian crude oil.

However, Trump, on Thursday, appeared to strike a softer tone with China. Following his face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Busan, the US President announced a reduction of tariffs from 20% to 10% on chemicals and other goods imported from China.

Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump hailed the meeting as “a roaring success”, saying Beijing had agreed to allow exports of rare earth elements and resume purchases of American soybeans.

He added that discussions are underway to permit exports of advanced computer chips to China and hinted that a trade deal could be signed “pretty soon".

“I guess on the scale from 0 to 10, with ten being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12,” Trump said.

Trump also revealed potential reciprocal visits, saying he plans to visit China in April, while President Xi is expected to visit the United States “sometime after that”.

PTI