&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "‘We’ll come together with India,’ says US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as Trump’s 50% tariffs kick in")
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday expressed confidence that the United States and India would come together “at the end of the day” and said that the relationship between President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains cordial but termed the trade negotiations as complicated. He also said that Washington was expecting a breakthrough by May or June, but India has taken a slower approach to finalising an agreement. He, however, said that New Delhi’s stance in the negotiations was“performative”.
As US President Donald Trump’s unilateral 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods came into effect on Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Fox Business, “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.
Highlighting the bond between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump, Bessent said, “This is a very complicated relationship. PM Modi and Trump have a very good relationship at that level... I do think India is the world’s largest democracy and the US is the world’s largest economy. I think at the end of the day we will come together.”
Bessent reiterated that the US has a big trade deficit with India and said New Delhi charged “very high” tariffs on American goods.
“The US is the deficit country. 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,” Bessent added.
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WATCH: India-China trade ties: How US pressure is reshaping India's trade map
Despite the differences on tariff issues, both governments have underlined that the broader bilateral relationship is not confined to trade alone. Strategic, defence, technology, and investment ties continue to expand, reflecting the depth and resilience of the partnership.
Meanwhile, the Indian government has reiterated its firm position on protecting sensitive sectors and said agricultural and dairy products remain red lines for it, as policymakers have been stressing that domestic interests in these areas cannot be compromised in any trade negotiation.
