By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a 25% tariff on Indian goods starting August 1 in a significant move, which came as a setback for India on the trade front, media reported.
The anticipations were high that the US President will give some relaxations and levy the utmost 10% tariff on India, media quoted official sources.
Trump cited India’s ‘high trade barriers’ and continued energy and defense ties with Russia as he slapped tariff on India
He wrote on social media platform X in a strongly worded statement, said while India is a “friend”, it has imposed some of the “highest tariffs” on the US and maintained “obnoxious” non-monetary trade barriers.
Trump wrote “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.”
He also criticized India’s military and oil imports from Russia, cited Moscow’s war on Ukraine. Along with the tariff, Donald Trump said India would face an additional “penalty” for its relations with Russia and “massive trade deficit”.
“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 first. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAGA!” Trump said.
Trump has repeatedly labeled India a “trade abuser” with “obnoxious non‑monetary trade barriers,” cited its high import duties on American products and lack of alignment with sanctions on Russia.
He had said, “Yeah, I think so. India is my friend. They ended the war with Pakistan at my request…The deal with India is not finalized. India has been a good friend, but India has charged basically more tariffs than almost any other country,” prior to announcing tariff on India.
Trump administration rolled out its “Liberation Day” tariff plan with a 10% baseline tariff on most imports plus reciprocal tariffs for countries with large trade surpluses, including India.
India responded by committing to tariff reductions on select U.S. imports and seeking a bilateral trade agreement to avoid or scale back these levies.
The new tariffs are expected to impact India’s goods exports to the US including labor-intensive products such as garments, pharmaceuticals, gems and jewelry, and petrochemicals. This was estimated at around $87 billion in 2024, media reported.
Media reported that the Indian rupee is under pressure, with analysts expected it to weaken further.
