The US Monday said it cannot ensure the sale of its crude oil to India at concessional rates to make up for the cheaper Iranian oil going out of the market.
“Oil is owned by private people, so the government cannot force people to make concessionary price,” US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who is here to participate in a trade forum, told reporters.
India this month stopped importing crude oil from Iran following the US move to end sanction waivers.
Iranian oil was a lucrative buy for Indian refiners as the Persian Gulf nation provides 60 days of credit for purchases, terms not available from suppliers of substitute crudes — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Nigeria, and the US.
