US treasury secretary blames India for FTA delay, calls it 'not a great global actor'

New Delhi: A day after US President Donald Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods and called the Indian economy "dead", US treasury secretary Scott Bessent blamed India for "slow-rolling" talks on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). He added that the entire US trade team is "frustrated" with India's approach. The new tariffs are set to take effect from August 1.

"I don't know what's gonna happen. It'll be up to India. India came to the table early, but they have been slow-rolling things. So the President and the whole trade team have been frustrated with them," Bessent told CNBC in an interview.

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Talking about India's energy ties with Russia, which Trump also flagged and imposed an undefined penalty, Bessent said, "India has been a large buyer of sanctioned Russian oil that they then resell as refined products. They have not been a great global actor."

Trump, in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, said: "Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are far too high—among the highest in the world—and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any country."

While speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump reiterated that negotiations with India were ongoing but expressed frustration over the high tariff rates. "We're talking to them now. We'll see what happens. India is one of the highest tariff nations in the world—100, 150, even 175 per cent tariffs. That's unacceptable," he said.

Trump also criticised India's membership to BRICS, describing it as "a group of countries that are anti-United States". "It’s partially due to BRICS, and partially due to trade. This trade situation is a deficit. We had a tremendous trade deficit with India," he added.

In response, the Indian government said that it was examining the new tariff structure and will take steps to protect its domestic industries, especially MSMEs, farmers, and small businesses.

Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal, speaking in Parliament, provided a timeline of the tariff imposition: "On April 2, 2025, the US President issued an executive order on reciprocal tariffs, initiating a 10 per cent baseline duty. A total 26 per cent tariff was announced for India. While the full country-specific additional tariff was initially set to take effect on April 9, it was extended by 90 days and will now come into force on August 1."

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India has expressed serious reservations over the US demand to open up its agricultural and dairy sectors, critical industries that provide livelihood to millions. New Delhi maintains that liberalising these sectors could adversely impact small farmers and rural economies.

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, during a press briefing, confirmed that the revised tariffs for different countries will go into effect from Friday, unless a trade agreement is reached before then.