Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on Indian imports starting August 1, citing India's high tariffs, non-monetary trade barriers and ties with Russia.
US President Donald Trump announced that a 25% tariff will be imposed on Indian imports starting August 1, along with an additional unspecified penalty. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Donald Trump cited India’s high tariffs, stringent non-monetary trade barriers and continued military and energy ties with Russia as the basis for the move.
“India is our friend, but we have… done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are far too high… and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non‑monetary trade barriers of any country," Donald Trump wrote.
He further criticised India’s defense and energy relationship with Russia, saying, “They have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE- ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!"
A government source told News18 that officials are studying Donald Trump’s announcement- particularly the legality and scope of both the 25% tariff and the unspecified penalty. The source acknowledged that, on its face, 25% is not unusually high compared to previous trade actions but cautioned that India will examine the fine print carefully.
India-US Trade Talks
In April, Donald Trump proposed levies of up to 27% on Indian goods though that plan was later paused pending ongoing negotiations. Since then, bilateral discussions resumed, with alternating tones of optimism and caution. Earlier, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said, “We continue to speak with our Indian counterparts. We’ve always had very constructive discussions with them." Jamieson Greer acknowledged the challenges posed by India’s protectionist trade policies and said that Donald Trump’s trade agenda remains focused on market access for US exports, especially in sensitive sectors.
India-US Trade Relationship At A Crossroads?
Until recently, the United States was India’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade totaling $190 billion in 2024. Both Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have publicly stated their ambition to more than double that to $500 billion in the years ahead.
India has already cut tariffs on select US products, such as Bourbon whiskey and motorcycles. Nevertheless, the US continues to run a $45 billion trade deficit with India- a key friction point in ongoing negotiations as seen by Donald Trump.
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