US Treasury Secretary Pins Tariff Fate on Trump-Putin Meet, MEA Downplays Remarks

The Wire

2 days ago

New Delhi: Despite US treasury secretary Scott Bessent threatening to increase secondary tariffs on India, the Ministry of External Affairs downplayed the remarks, noting again that India-US ties have weathered multiple challenges and New Delhi was focused on the relationship's 'substantive agenda'.
Pinning the future of tariffs on India on the fate of the upcoming US-Russia summit this week, Bessent said in a Bloomberg TV interview, "We've put secondary tariffs on Indians for buying Russian oil. And I could see, If things don't go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up.".
Trump and Putin will meet in Anchorage to discuss how to end Russia's war in Ukraine.
Trump's new 50% tariff rate on India is likely to come into effect on August 27. Twenty five percent of this imposition is what the Trump administration has called a penalty for India's continued purchase of Russian oil. The other 25% is because the two countries are yet to arrive at a trade deal.
When asked about Bessent's threat to increase tariffs at the weekly briefing, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal offered a restrained response and highlighted the resilience of the bilateral partnership.
'India and the United States share a comprehensive global strategic partnership anchored in shared interests, democratic values and robust people-to-people ties. This partnership has weathered several transitions and challenges, as we had said earlier as well."
He added that India held hope of mutual respect and interests acting as driving forces in ties. "We remain focused on the substantive agenda that the two countries have committed to, and we hope that the relationship will continue to move forward based on mutual respect and shared interests."
Meanwhile, India's national security advisor Ajit Doval has said after his visit to Russia that Putin is likely to visit India before the end of the year.
To another question on India-US defence partnership, the MEA said that defence was an important aspect of bilateral ties. "You know, the India-US defence partnership, underpinned by foundational defence agreements, is an important pillar of the bilateral partnership. This robust cooperation has strengthened across several domains."
The MEA said that it is looking at two key events this month: "We are expecting a US defence policy team to be in Delhi in mid-August. The 21st edition of the joint military exercise Yudh Abhyas is also expected to take place later this month in Alaska. Both sides remain engaged to convene the 2 2 intersession meeting at the working level towards the end of this month."
"As far as the question of defence acquisition is concerned, the procurement processes continue as per established procedures," said Jaiswal.
In answer to another question about the BRICS grouping of emerging economies, Jaiswal said that India had never ascribed to any measure to replace the dollar as the global reserve currency. 'We have made our position clear on this issue earlier. De-dollarisation is not a part of India's financial agenda,' he said.
Trump has repeatedly targeted the 10 members of the group over the last several months, claiming that they planned to float a currency to rival the dollar 'Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy,' he wrote in July after the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had stated that he will be speaking with other BRICS leaders to forge a unified response to US tariffs. Besides India, Brazil is the only other country to have been slapped with a 50 percent tariff. However, the tariff was imposed not over trade dispute, but due to the trial of rightwing leader and former president Jair Bolsonaro.
When asked on India's position on a suggestion of a virtual BRICS meet on tariffs, Jaiswal said, 'India is a member of the BRICS group. We continue to remain in touch with Member Countries on issues of shared interest'.
Last week, Lula had a one hour phone call with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While the Brazilian statement noted that the conversation covered the imposition of 'unilateral tariffs', the Indian readout didn't even mention the word.