Friend or Foe? U.S. Official Accuses India of Stalling Trade Talks

United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has blamed India for “slow-rolling things” in the talks for a Free Trade Agreement and said “the whole trade team has been frustrated with them”. The comments, made in an interview with CNBC, came a day after the US President announced a 25 per cent tariff on India and an unspecified penalty for purchasing Russian oil. The new US tariffs on Indian goods are set to take effect from August 1.

“I don’t know what’s gonna happen. It’ll be up to India. India came to the table early. They have been slow-rolling things. So the President, the whole trade team, has been frustrated with them,” Bessent told CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’. He also talked about India’s energy ties with Russia. “India has been a large buyer of sanctioned Russian oil that they then resell as refined products. They have not been a great global actor,” he said.

Will India-US Trade Talks Yield Fruitful Results?

Bessent was asked about Trump’s tariff announcement on India and if he expected something to happen before the deadline. After announcing a 25 per cent tariff and penalty for purchasing Russian oil, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (local time) that Washington is continuing trade negotiations with New Delhi. He emphasised that India is one of the countries imposing high tariffs on the United States.

“We’re talking to them now. We’ll see what happens. Again, India was the highest or just about the highest tariff nation in the world, one of the highest, 100 points, 150 points or percentages. So India was one of the highest in the world. They had 175 per cent and higher than that,” Trump said to a question by ANI during a press conference at the White House, held to mark the signing of a Congressional bill.
Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on India and an additional penalty for buying Russian oil on his social media handle, Truth Social.

President Says India Part of Anti-US Group

The US President, during the press conference, also talked about India being a member of BRICS.
“We’re negotiating right now, and it’s also BRICS. They have BRICS, which is basically a group of countries that are anti-United States, and India is a member of that, if you can believe it. It’s an attack on the dollar, and we’re not going to let anybody attack the dollar. It’s partially due to BRICS, and partially to the trade. This trade situation is a deficit. We had a tremendous deficit,” Trump stated.
He emphasised India-US ties, calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “friend,” while referring to the US trade deficit with India. He further noted that it “doesn’t matter too much” if the India-US deal reaches a certain tariff.
India has said that it is examining the impact of Trump’s tariff announcement and will take necessary steps to safeguard national interest.

(Inputs From ANI)

Also Read: ‘We’re Talking To India Now’: Donald Trump Hints At Trade Talks Despite Imposing 25% Tariff