According to official sources, attempts are being made to mend the existing rift between India and the US after a 25 percent tax was imposed on Wednesday as a penalty for India’s purchase of Russian oil. They claimed that although the two nations have a long-term relationship, the current state of affairs is just temporary.
They further noted that exporters do not need to panic since the impact of US tariffs are unlikely to be substantial. India’s diverse export base is the reason behind this. India now shares first place with Brazil in terms of total tariffs, which can reach as high as 50%.
Over $60 billion a year, or two-thirds of India’s exports to the US, are currently subject to tariffs.
All Indian items that “entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption” on or after this date will be subject to the increased charge, the US Department of Homeland Security said.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yesterday that he is confident in India-US relations in an interview with Fox News. “I do believe that India is the largest democracy in the world, and the United States is the largest economy in the world,” he stated in an interview with Fox Business. I believe that we will eventually come together.
Additionally, Bessent clarified that there is a “very good rapport at the top level” between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “This is a complex relationship,” he remarked. At the highest level, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi get along well, but it goes beyond Russian energy.
Bessent reaffirmed Trump’s position on bilateral trade, stating that the US has a significant trade imbalance with India and that the “deficit” country benefits from a “schism” in economic ties while the “surplus” country “should worry.”
The nation with the deficit is the US. When there is a schism in trade relations, the deficit country’s at an advantage. The surplus nation should be concerned. Thus, we are buying from the Indians. We have a huge deficit with them, and their tariffs are extremely high,” the Treasury Secretary stated.
Back home, New Delhi has asserted that it is prepared to stand firm against US pressure, with PM Modi pledging he would “never compromise” the interests of the country’s farmers.
According to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), which cited sources, PM Modi declined to answer four calls from US President Donald Trump in recent weeks amid the tariff spat. The “depth of his [Modi’s] anger, but also his caution” is what the study says caused this.
