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U.S. targets India, China for oil prices

Washington: After President George W. Bush’s remarks linking Indians’ food habits to rising prices of commodities globally, the United States is now faulting India and China for the surge in oil prices to record levels.

The White House also sought to calm the frayed tempers in India to Mr. Bush’s remarks that the rising prosperity of its large middle class is contributing to rising foods prices around the world, saying the U.S. saw “higher living standards” of people there as a “good thing.”

“Many developing nations like India or China are having greatly increased demand, which obviously is having an impact on price,” White House deputy spokesman Scott Stanzel said at a briefing in response to a question on the crude oil price crossing $120-mark.

“There are a lot of different ways that we can reduce our dependence, but we have more to do and it’s just – and also I would point out that, obviously, the demand for oil is growing around the world,” he said.

Asked to clarify Mr. Bush’s remarks on food habits of Indians, Mr. Stanzel said: “we think that it is a good thing that countries are developing; that more and more people have higher and higher standards of living.”

However, he apparently did not go back on Mr. Bush’s point that Indian food habits were contributing to spiralling food prices, which in turn, were worsening the global food crisis. — PTI

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