E-Paper
‘If the Indians don’t budge…': Top US economic official on Donald Trump's hard stance on tariffs, trade deal | Watch
US economic council director Kevin Hassett accuses India of “intransigence”, or refusing to change stance, over easier for American products into its market
As the US treasury secretary blamed the slow pace of trade deal talks as one more reason for high tariffs on India, another top American official accused the country of “intransigence”, that is, refusing to change its stance over easier entry for US products into its market.
US National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said President Donald Trump is not likely to change his mind either: “… if the Indians don't budge, I don't think President Trump will.”
Also read | 'Modi’s war in Ukraine': Trump aide's fresh charge over India buying Russian oil
Speaking to the media at the White House on Wednesday, Hassett also furthered the US argument that the 25% “penal” tariff on India over its purchase of Russian oil — in addition to the 25% that kicked in three weeks earlier — was a pressure move to get Vladimir Putin to stop the war in Ukraine.
"Part of it has been tied to the pressure we've been trying to put on Russia in order to secure a peace deal and save millions of lives. And then there's the Indian intransigence about opening their markets to our products," Hassett was quoted as saying by ANI.
India, which has questioned the logic of the “penalty”, has drawn a line at certain vulnerable sectors, including but not limited to agriculture, fishery, and the smaller industry, in the trade talks. “We believe issues will be resolved in negotiations, but there will be no going back on our red lines,” an official familiar with the current state of the talks told HT.
It has but kept a door open for the negotiations, which are currently stalled after beginning formally in April.
Hassett also, however, said there are “always going to be ebbs and flows” in negotiations.
Earlier, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview that the high tariff rates were not just over India's purchase of Russian oil, but also over how long-drawn the ongoing talks for a trade deal have been.
He also added: “India is the world’s largest democracy. The US is the world’s largest economy. I think at the end of the day we will come together."
PM Narendra Modi, meanwhile, is set to go for an eastward tour to Japan and then China, where Putin will also be, for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
