The Donald Trump administration has expressed optimism about resolving trade tensions with India. The US had previously criticised India’s continued purchase of Russian crude oil. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “two great countries will get this solved.” He also warned that India’s energy ties with Moscow were indirectly fuelling Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Speaking to Fox Business, Bessent said that the United States remains concerned about India’s role in buying Russian oil and reportedly reselling it, which he claimed was helping fund Russia’s military operations. “The Indians have not been great actors in terms of buying Russian oil and then reselling it, financing the Russian war effort in Ukraine,” he said.
He also said that ongoing India-US trade tensions were also behind Washington’s decision to impose steep tariffs on New Delhi. India currently faces a 50 percent duty rate. Trump has repeatedly accused India of maintaining a “one-sided disaster” in trade, citing high Indian tariffs that restrict American goods from entering the market.
Bessent, however, played down the importance of PM Modi’s recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China.
“This is a longstanding meeting… I think it’s largely performative,” he said, adding, “India is the most populous democracy in the world. Their values are much closer to ours than to Russia’s.”
On Russia, Bessent reiterated that the US administration is ready to tighten sanctions if the Kremlin refuses to end its war in Ukraine. Talking about Trump’s recent meeting with Puti, he said Moscow has done the “opposite” of pursuing peace.
“President Putin, in a despicable manner, has increased the bombing campaign,” Bessent said. “With President Trump, all options are on the table, and we’ll be examining those very closely this week.”
Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
