‘Two great countries will…’: Trump aide says US-India can resolve trade frictions amid strained ties after tariffs

Hours after US President Donald Trump claimed that India had offered to cut tariffs to zero, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent voiced confidence that Washington and New Delhi could overcome trade frictions. At the same time, he criticised India’s continued imports of Russian crude, warning that the purchases risked fuelling Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

In an interview with Fox News, Bessent emphasised the strength of bilateral ties. “Two great countries will get this solved,” he said, stressing that the two democracies were capable of navigating their differences.

On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, he downplayed concerns. “This is a longstanding meeting, it’s called the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and I think it’s largely performative,” he noted. “At the end of the day, India is the most populous democracy in the world. Their values are much closer to ours and to China’s than to Russia’s.”

Still, Bessent was sharply critical of India’s energy trade with Moscow. “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 pointed to slow progress in trade negotiations as one of the reasons behind Washington’s move to raise tariffs on Indian goods. Bessent also said “all options are on the table” as the Trump administration weighs further measures against Russia, accusing Vladimir Putin of escalating attacks despite peace talks.

Earlier, Trump described trade with India as a “one-sided disaster”, alleging that high tariffs had kept US goods out of the Indian market.