US Treasury Secretary Bessent blames India for trade deadlock

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has blamed India for the slowdown in trade talks, stating in an interview that the “whole trade team has been frustrated” with New Delhi’s approach.

“They’ve been slow rolling things. So I think that the President, the whole trade team has been frustrated with them,” he told CNBC.

“And also, India has been a large buyer of sanctioned Russian oil that they then resell as refined products. So, they have not been a great global actor,” Bessent added further.

The statement came a day after US President Donald Trump announced imposition of a 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming from India starting August 1, plus an unspecified penalty for buying military equipment and crude oil from Russia.

India is the first country to face a penalty for Russian imports.

Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has said that India will take all necessary steps to safeguard and promote national interest. In a suo motu statement in the Lok Sabha, he said the government is studying the implications of these tariff announcements made by Trump.

Goyal said India and the US started negotiations for a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement (BTA) in March this year with a target to complete the first tranche of the agreement by fall of 2025.

“The two sides finalised the detailed Terms of Reference (ToR) to enter into negotiations of the BTA on 29th March 2025 during the first physical round of discussions held at New Delhi,” he said.

“Thereafter, four physical rounds of negotiations have taken place between both sides, in New Delhi and Washington DC, to work towards finalisation of the BTA in accordance with the agreed ToR. In addition, there have been many virtual meetings between the two sides,” the commerce minister added.

India, Goyal said, is unlikely to compromise on core interests.

“The ministry of commerce and industry is engaged with all stakeholders including exporters and industry for taking feedback of their assessment of the situation. The government attaches the utmost importance to protecting and promoting the welfare of our farmers, workers, entrepreneurs, exporters, MSMEs and all sections of Industry. We will take all necessary steps to secure and advance our national interest,” Goyal said.