US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday voiced confidence that trade tensions with India could be resolved, while sharply criticizing New Delhi’s oil dealings with Moscow and downplaying the significance of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
Speaking to Fox News in Washington, Bessent said the SCO gathering in Tianjin—where Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping—was “largely performative.” He added: “India is the most populous democracy in the world. Their values are much closer to ours and to China’s than to Russia’s.”
Bessent nonetheless accused India of being “not great actors” in the global effort to isolate Moscow. “They’ve been buying Russian oil and reselling it, financing the Russian war effort in Ukraine,” he said. Still, he struck an optimistic note: “At the end of the day, two great countries will get this solved.”
He confirmed that President Donald Trump was weighing further sanctions on Russia after its latest missile and drone strikes on Kyiv, which killed at least 17 people, including four children. “With President Trump, all options are on the table,” Bessent said, blasting Moscow’s escalation as “despicable.”
Trump, Navarro Take Aim at India
President Trump echoed frustration over trade, calling the U.S.-India relationship “totally one sided” and accusing New Delhi of imposing “the highest tariffs in the world.” India has rejected the charges, saying its policies reflect national interests in energy and agriculture.
Other senior Trump officials struck an even harder tone. Trade adviser Peter Navarro accused Indian refiners of turning the country into a “massive refining hub and oil money laundromat for the Kremlin,” and went so far as to blame “Brahmins profiteering at the expense of the Indian people.” While describing Modi as a “great leader,” Navarro said India’s ties with Putin and Xi undermined its standing as the world’s largest democracy.
The Trump administration has already imposed steep reciprocal tariffs, including a 25% levy on Indian goods and another 25% on oil imports linked to Russia—raising total duties to around 50%, among the highest in the world.
