‘We will come together’: US official on 50% tariff on India; calls Trump-PM Modi bond ‘very good’
NEW DELHI: “At the end the day, we will come together,” a top US official said on Wednesday, striking an optimistic note even as trade tensions flare between Washington and New Delhi after US President Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on India over its Russian oil imports.In an interview with Fox Business, the US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said, “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.”
He added that despite the disputes, the bond between the two leaders remains strong: “This is very complicated relationship. President Trump and Prime Minister Modi have very good relationship.”Bessent also mentioned that India had engaged early in talks, saying, “The Indians came in early after Liberation Day to start negotiating on tariffs and we still don’t have a deal.” He added that New Delhi’s continued purchase of discounted Russian crude had only deepened the friction, arguing that much of India’s stance in the negotiations was “performative.”Asked whether the rupee could emerge as a global reserve currency, Bessent chuckled and brushed off the idea: “A lot of things I worry about. The rupee becoming the reserve currency isn’t one of them.”He also specified that Indian currency Rupee is near an “all-time low”.Meanwhile, India has begun its counteroffensive, announcing outreach programmes in 40 key global markets — including the UK, Japan, South Korea, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Canada, Mexico, Russia, and Australia — to boost textile exports.The additional 25 per cent tariff imposed by President Trump on Indian goods over New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil have come into effect, raising the overall levy on exports to 50 per cent. Trump had first announced reciprocal tariffs of 25 per cent on India from August 7, alongside similar levies on about 70 other countries.Trump had earlier ramped up his criticism, mocking both India and Russia. “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India — their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together.”
