Trump announces 25% tariff plus penalty on India starting August 1
NEW DELHI, JUL 30 : US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a sweeping 25% tariff on India starting August 1st.
“Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country. Also, 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! INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST 1st. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. MAGA!” he said in a post on TruthSocial.
Trump’s reference to India’s purchase of Russian oil comes against the backdrop of the Russian Sanctions Act, 2025, which has been introduced in the US Senate and House of Representatives. It proposes to impose 500% duties on countries that buy oil or other petroleum products from Russia.
India and the US had held the fifth round of talks last week in Washington but failed to reach an agreement.
During a media interaction on Tuesday, Trump had hinted that the US was preparing to impose a higher tariff on India.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on his way back to Washington from Scotland, he was asked if the deal with India had been finalised.
“No, it’s not,” Trump had replied.
The US has reached trade agreements with the UK, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Japan and the European Union recently. The US also came to a preliminary agreement with China that reduced the tit-for-tat tariffs imposed on each other.
For its part, India signed a free trade agreement with the UK during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to the country last week.
The US had previously announced a 26 percent reciprocal tariff against India in April, which was suspended as bilateral talks got underway.
Indian exporters are now set to take a hit as Trump’s announcement marks a steep increase from the 10 percent baseline tariff on Indian shipments to the US.
-PTI
