Hassett’s remarks come as finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday that India will continue to buy oil from Russia as it is cost-effective.

India currently faces a whopping 50 per cent tariff from the United States, half of which is penalty for buying oil from Russia. While the US has claimed that India’s purchase of Russian oil is fueling the latter’s war in Ukraine, India has repeatedly rejected the claim and has called the US’ action “unjustified” and “unfair”.

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While talking about the low employment numbers released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, which reveal that the unemployment rate in the United States has touched its highest since 2021 at 4.3 per cent, Hassett said that it was “disappointing” but expressed hope about the American economy’s future.

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“I expect it’s going to revise up. President Trump knows that we’re super optimistic about the future of the jobs numbers because we’re seeing a massive blowout in capital spending and new factory and construction, something that can happen because of the tax reforms that we had. Capital spending is growing at a rate of just about 8% per cent over the first half of year. It’s accelerating to the third quarter, which is why GDP now has a third quarter at about three per cent. And so, like all the indicators that we’re seeing are that inflation is low and economic growth is solid,” ANI quoted him as saying.

India will ‘undoubtedly be buying’ Russian oil

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, two days after introducing the reforms in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) structure, said on Friday that India will continue to buy oil from Russia despite US tariffs.

“We will have to take a call which (supply source) suits us the best. So we will undoubtedly be buying it,” she said while speaking to CNN-News18.

“Whether it is Russian oil or anything else, it’s our decision to buy from the place which suits our needs whether in terms of rates, logistics, anything,” she added.

To soften the blow of US tariffs on Indian exporters, Sitharaman also said that the government is working on a relief package for them and that the new GST reforms will also help in the same.