'We will come together,' says US Treasury Secretary on trade negotiations with India

Washington, Aug 27 (IANS) US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday expressed optimism over a possible trade deal with India, saying that the two nations “will come together.”

In an interview with Fox News, Bessent highlighted the personal rapport between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, asserting that both leaders had a “very good relationship.”

“I do think India is 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,” he added.

The Trump administration imposed an additional 25 per cent tariffs on India starting Wednesday, bringing the total levies to 50 per cent.

Bessent also acknowledged that India was one of the few countries that initiated trade negotiations with Washington early in Trump’s second term.

“The Indians came in very early after liberation day to start negotiating on tariffs, and we still don't have a deal. I thought that we would have a deal in May and June. I thought India could be one of the earlier deals,” he told Fox News.

However, he argued that India “tapped us along” in the negotiations and was being “performative.”

Prime Minister Modi, on repeated occasions, has stood his ground and ruled out any compromise that threatens the interests of India’s farmers and small businesses. India has termed the US tariffs as “unjustified and unfair”

Bessent once again accused India of “profiteering” from buying Russian oil – a repeated charge from the Trump administration.

External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar pushed back last week, asserting, “If you have a problem buying oil or refined products from India, don't buy it.”

On the question of India conducting its trade in Indian rupees with the BRICS countries, Bessent laughed off the possibility, saying he’s not worried about “rupee becoming a reserve currency.”

Last month, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had ruled out any attempt for “de-dollarisation” from the BRICS members.

“De-dollarisation is not something which is on the agenda,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal clarified in July.

--IANS

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