Trump imposes 25% tariff on India plus ‘penalty’ over ties to Russia

Donald Trump has announced the US will impose a 25% tariff on goods from India plus an extra “penalty” for the country buying arms and energy from Russia amid the war in Ukraine.

Washington has set a 1 August deadline for countries around the world to reach agreements on trade, including India, amid the US president’s sweeping global tariff war.
While saying that Delhi was a “friend,” Trump used his Truth Social platform to criticise India’s trade policies and said the White House would impose a 25% tariff “plus a penalty” of an unspecified amount.

He said the US had a “massive” trade deficit with India – when imported goods outstrip exports – and linked its “vast” purchases of military equipment and energy from Russia to Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

Criticising Indian tariffs applied to US imports as “far too high”, he also accused Narendra Modi’s government of applying non-monetary barriers to trade that were among the most “strenuous and obnoxious” in the world.

Trump wrote: “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

Figures compiled by Washington show the US trade in goods with India were an estimated $129.2bn (£97bn) in 2024, making it the US’s 10th largest trading partner. The US goods trade deficit was worth $45.7bn.

Trump’s criticism of India comes as he ramps up pressure on Moscow amid growing frustration with Putin’s war in Ukraine. Trump had claimed before his inauguration in January that he would be able to end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office.

Dozens of large countries around the world remain locked in negotiations with Washington with only days to go before Trump’s deadline of 1 August to reach agreements on trade. The White House has threatened to unilaterally apply higher tariffs if deals cannot be reached.