'Very disappointed' with Europeans, says Bessent after India-EU trade deal

After the India-EU FTA, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent slams Europe for prioritising trade over sanctions on Russian oil amid the Ukraine war

In the wake of the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU), the United States has described the Europeans as “very disappointing”, saying they were unwilling to join Washington in putting tariffs on New Delhi for its purchases of Russian oil because of this trade deal. 

“Again, they should do what’s best for themselves, but I will tell you I find the Europeans very disappointing because the Europeans are on the front line of the Ukraine-Russia war,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with CNBC’s on Wednesday. Bessent was responding to a question on the “massive” trade deal between Europe and India and whether that threatens America, given that the countries are moving ahead with free trade without Washington. 

“...India started buying sanctioned Russian oil, and guess who was buying the refined products? The Europeans. So, the Europeans have been funding the war against themselves and like something that you couldn’t have made up.”  

“The US sanctioned or put a 25 per cent tariff on India for buying the Russian oil. The Europeans were unwilling to join us, and it turns out that they wanted to do this trade deal. So, every time you hear a European talk about the importance of the Ukrainian people, remember that they put trade ahead of the Ukrainian people. Trade — European trade, more important than ending the war in Ukraine,” Bessent said. “At a price, they want cheap energy, but we could have cheaper energy too if we were willing to buy sanctioned Russian oil.”