US Official Makes Strong Statement on India Amid Ongoing Tariff Dispute
Commenting on trade negotiations between India and the US, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: “we still don’t have a deal. On top of that, India’s behaviour in the negotiations up to this point has seemed, at least to me, to be performative.”
India US trade relations soured further on Wednesday after Washington announced a 25% US India tariff tussle for its ongoing import of Russian oil and defence supplies. However, Bessent was confident about the long-term outlook for India–US relations.
Speaking to Fox Business, he added: “India is the largest democracy in the world. The US is the largest economy in the world. And at the end of the day, I believe we will come together.”
Bessent said he had originally thought the two countries would strike a trade deal by May or June. “They came in early after Liberation Day to negotiate about the tariffs. But we don’t have a deal. I thought we would have tariff dispute India US by now. Instead, they’ve been very measured in their approach. On top of that, they’ve been profiting from buying Russian crude,” he told the channel.
He also suggested the good relationship between the two leaders could play an important role in the negotiations going forward, adding: “This is a very complicated relationship. President Trump and Prime Minister Modi have a very US-India diplomacy at the top level, but the conversations are about more than Russian oil.”
In US official India remark about India’s recent push for rupee trade, he said: “I worry about a lot of things. But the rupee becoming a reserve currency isn’t one of those things – especially when it’s at an all-time low against the dollar.”
In New Delhi, meanwhile, the Indian government’s response to Washington was more defiant. Reiterating his previous stance that India would not succumb to external pressure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he would “never compromise” on doing what’s in the best interest of the country’s farmers.
