New Delhi: The US is not worried about the rupee “becoming a reserve currency” given that it is at an all-time low versus the dollar, Scott Bessent, the American Treasury Secretary said Wednesday.
Bessent further added that he believes New Delhi has been stringing the US along in the negotiations on a trade deal. The Treasury Secretary’s comments came on a day when the US’ additional 25 percent tariffs on India came into effect, increasing the effective levies paid by Indian exporters to 50 percent.
“There are a lot of things I worry about. The rupee becoming a reserve currency isn’t one of them. Right. You know, on this trade problem with us, I think the rupee is near an all-time low versus the US dollar,” Bessent said during an interview on Fox Business.
Ties between India and the US have hit a rough patch in recent weeks after President Donald J. Trump imposed “penalty” tariffs on India. The tariffs imposed on 6 August were in relation to India’s continued purchase of Russian crude. India imported roughly $56 billion worth of Russian oil in the 2024-2025 financial year.
Bessent, however, told Fox Business that the issues with India are not just over Russian oil, but also because India has “kind of tapped” the US along in “terms of negotiations”.
“President Trump and Prime Minister Modi have very good relationships at that level. And it’s not just over the Russian oil. The Indians came in very early, after Liberation Day, to start negotiating on tariffs, and we still don’t have a deal. I thought that we would have a deal in May, June. I thought India could be one of the earlier deals. And they’ve kind of tapped us along in terms of the negotiations,” said Bessent.
The Treasury Secretary further asserted that India has been “profiteering” from the sale of Russian crude. American officials have accused India of profiteering through the sales of refined Russian crude and its derivatives. Since the war between Russia and Ukraine, the G7 member-states introduced a price cap on Russian oil with the aim of harming Moscow’s revenues. The price cap would ensure that the sale price is below $60.
“And then there is also the aspect of the Russian crude purchases, which they’ve been profiteering on… I think, at the end of the day, we will come together. I think a lot of it, by the Indians, has been performative,” said Bessent.
The Treasury Secretary added: “The US is the deficit country. When there is a schism in trade relations, the deficit country is at an advantage. It’s the surplus country that should worry. So the Indians are selling to us. They have very high tariffs. And we have a very large deficit with them.”
There has been no official comment from Indian officials with regards to the latest tariffs coming into effect. A person familiar with the matter informed ThePrint that India has continued to discuss trade with the US.
The next round of trade negotiations between India and the US was scheduled for 25 August, however, that was postponed. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar while speaking at a public event last weekend said there has been no cancellation of talks between the two countries.
However, for India there are clear red-lines, including its agricultural and dairy sectors. While in the early mini-deal to stave off tariffs, New Delhi was willing to make certain concessions in this regard, they were not acceptable to the US.
The second issue New Delhi has with the US, is the repeated claims made by Trump on mediating an end to the conflict between India and Pakistan. India has maintained that the conflict was paused due to a bilateral understanding and no third country played a role in the process.
However, Trump as recently as this week claimed credit for ending the 87-hour conflict. The tariffs are set to impact over half of India’s total merchandise exports to the US. In the last financial year, India’s total exports to the US stood at $86 billion. However, its largest exports, smartphones and pharmaceuticals are exempted from the tariffs at the moment. Smartphones, pharmaceuticals and energy are worth almost 30 percent of India’s total exports to the US, and are duty-free.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: US issues notification outlining 50% tariff on India, effective 27 August