India Faces 25% Tariffs plus Penalty for Trade with Russia

US President Donald Trump has announced a 25 percent tariff on Indian goods, as well as an unspecified penalty for the country’s purchase of Russian oil and military equipment, as the unending war in Ukraine frustrates the White House. 

Trump announced the trade moves – which he said will come into effect this week – on his Truth Social account on Wednesday, saying they are necessary to reverse a long-running trade imbalance. 

“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”, Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

The president also blamed India for buying military equipment and oil from Russia, which he said has enabled the war in Ukraine. As a result, he intends to charge an additional “penalty” starting on Friday as part of the launch of his administration’s revised tariffs on multiple countries. 

According to an analysis of Russian fossil fuel exports and sanctions conducted by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) in June, India continued to be the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels behind China. 

There was no immediate response from India, which has been negotiating a trade deal with the US for months. Last year, the US had a trade deficit of $45.8 billion with India.