- Scott Bessent remains confident in India-US ties, saying "I think at the end of the day we will come together"
- Bessent called India the world's largest democracy and the US the largest economy
- No trade deal has been reached between India and the US as yet
As the tariff tension between India and the US escalated further on Wednesday, with an additional 25 per cent penalty on New Delhi, over its purchase of Russian oil and defence equipment, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has expressed confidence in India-US ties.
In an interview to Fox Business, he said, "I do think India's the world's largest democracy, the US is the world's largest economy. I think at the end of the day we will come together."
Throwing light on the status of the trade deal between the two countries, he said that "we still don't have a deal", adding that India's stance regarding the talks had been "performative", and although it was expected that the trade deal will come through by May or June, India has taken a measured approach towards the agreement.
"The Indians came in early after Liberation Day to start negotiating on tariffs and we still don't have a deal. I thought we would have a deal by May or June. I thought India could be our earlier deals and they tapped us along in terms of negotiations. There's also that aspect of Russian crude purchases which they have been profiteering on," he said.
Bessent also explained that US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have a "very good rapport at the top level". He said, "This is a complicated relationship. President Trump and Prime Minister Modi have a very good rapport at the top level, but it's not just about Russian oil."
Regarding bilateral trade, Bessent reiterated Trump's stance and said that US had a large trade deficit with India and when there is a "schism" in trade relations, the 'deficit' country is at an advantage and the 'surplus' country "should worry".
"The US is the deficit country. When there is a schism in trade relations, the deficit country's 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," the Treasury Secretary said.
While answering whether he is worried about India setting the trade in rupee, he pointed out that the Indian rupee is at an all-time low against the US dollar and remarked, "A lot of things I worry about. The rupee becoming the reserve currency isn't one of them."
Back home, New Delhi has asserted that it is prepared to stand firm against US pressure, with PM Modi vowing he would "never compromise" the interests of the country's farmers.
PM Modi refused to take four calls from American President Donald Trump in recent weeks, against the backdrop of the tariff row, German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) has reported, citing sources. The report suggests that this was the result of the "depth of his [Modi's] anger, but also his caution".
