Donald Trump has announced the US will impose a 25% tariff on goods from India plus an extra \u201cpenalty\u201d for the country buying arms and energy from Russia amid the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Washington has set a 1 August deadline for countries around the world to reach agreements on trade, including India<\/a>, amid the US president\u2019s sweeping global tariff war.<\/p>\n While saying that Delhi was a \u201cfriend,\u201d Trump used his Truth Social platform to criticise India\u2019s trade policies and said the White House would impose a 25% tariff \u201cplus a penalty\u201d of an unspecified amount.<\/p>\n He said the US had a \u201cmassive\u201d trade deficit with India \u2013 when imported goods outstrip exports \u2013 and linked its \u201cvast\u201d purchases of military equipment and energy from Russia to Vladimir Putin\u2019s war in Ukraine<\/a>.<\/p>\n Criticising Indian tariffs applied to US imports as \u201cfar too high\u201d, he also accused Narendra Modi\u2019s government of applying non-monetary barriers to trade that were among the most \u201cstrenuous and obnoxious\u201d in the world.<\/p>\n Trump wrote: \u201cThey have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia<\/a>, and are Russia\u2019s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE \u2014 ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!<\/p>\n \u201cINDIA 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!\u201d<\/p>\n Figures compiled by Washington show the US trade in goods with India were an estimated $129.2bn (\u00a397bn) in 2024, making it the US\u2019s 10th largest trading partner. The US goods trade deficit was worth $45.7bn.<\/p>\n Shortly after announcing the tariffs on New Delhi, Trump said he had struck a deal with India\u2019s neighbour and rival Pakistan to jointly develop its oil reserves.<\/p>\n \u201cWho knows, maybe they\u2019ll be selling oil to India some day!\u201d he posted on Truth Social.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s criticism of India comes as he ramps up pressure on Moscow<\/a> amid growing frustration with Putin\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Business Today<\/p>\n Get set for the working day \u2013 we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Dozens of large countries around the world remain locked in negotiations with Washington with only days to go before Trump\u2019s deadline of 1 August to reach agreements on trade. The White House has threatened to unilaterally apply higher tariffs if deals cannot be reached.<\/p>\n