US, India will eventually unite on issues: Scott Bessent

ATop out ruff governance functionary said on wed that the India-US relationship is “very complicated” but added he believes the two sides will “eventually come together”.The comments by US treasury secretary Scott Bessent, who claimed America has an upper hand in the trade negotiations that have now run aground, came within hours of Washington’s additional 25% tariff rate on Indian goods — meant to punish New Delhi for its purchase of Russian oil – coming into force.“I do think India is the world’s largest democracy and the US is the world’s largest economy. At the end of the day, we will come together,” Bessent said in a television interview, while acknowledging tensions over trade and Russia. He reiterated his earlier statements, where he accused India of “profiteering” off Russian energy sales and “tapping us along” on trade talks.“This is a very complicated relationship,” he said, but added: “President Trump [and] Prime Minister Modi have very good relationships at that level,” while speaking to Fox Business.Bessent expressed frustration with the pace of trade negotiations, saying he had expected a deal with India to be among the first Washington would sign.“The Indians came in very early after Liberation Day to start negotiating on tariffs, and we still don’t have a deal,” he said, referring to April 2 when Trump announced sweeping global tariffs.“I thought India could be one of the earlier deals. And they kind of tapped us along in terms of the negotiations. And then there is also the aspect of the Russian crude purchases, which they’ve been profiteering on. So there are many levels going on here.”Bessent said he had thought “we would have a deal” with India by May and June, calling much of India’s approach “performative” while reacting to comments by India’s external affairs minister S Jaishankar over the weekend. Jaishankar had said: “If you have a problem buying oil or refined products from India, don’t buy it. Nobody forces you to buy it. Europe buys, America buys, so if you don’t like it, don’t buy it”.Indian officials have termed the tariffs “unjustified” — a position that people who spoke on condition of anonymity reiterated, while maintaining that there still is room for negotiation. The Indian side’s response has been “restrained and responsible” while keeping the door open for a trade deal, they added.S Jaishankar, at the media engagement on Saturday, stated that the issue of Russian oil never came up in trade discussions.Bessent, on his part, also targeted European leaders on Wednesday, pointing out they are “the ones buying the refined products that’s made from the Russian oil.”India has questioned why it faces penalties for Russian oil purchases whilst larger buyers such as China have escaped similar action, calling the disparity “unjustified and unacceptable.”“The punitive tariff for buying Russian oil came as a bolt from the blue as it was not part of the terms of reference agreed on by the two sides in April for trade negotiations,” one person said, hoping the 25% tariff would be temporary.Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated on Monday that his government would not compromise on farmers and small producers. “My government will never let any harm come to small entrepreneurs, farmers and animal keepers. No matter how much pressure comes, we will keep increasing our strength to withstand it.”Bessent suggested the US holds advantages as the deficit country in trade disputes. “When there is a schism in trade relations, the deficit country is at an advantage. It’s the surplus country that should worry. So, the Indians are selling to us, they have very high tariffs, and we have a very large deficit with them.”When asked about concerns over India potentially trading in rupees with Brics nations instead of dollars, Bessent dismissed the threat. “The rupee becoming a reserve currency isn’t one of them. I think the rupee is near an all-time low versus the US dollar.”The 25% punitive tariff adds to an existing 25% reciprocal tariff, bringing total US duties to as much as 50% on Indian goods including garments, gems and jewellery, footwear and chemicals. The tariffs affect nearly 55% of India’s $87 billion in merchandise exports to the US that are at a competitive disadvantage compared to those from nations such as Vietnam, Bangladesh and China., which face lower tariff levels.