India, Russia can take their 'dead' economies down together: Trump attacks New Delhi-Moscow ties amid US tariff move
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U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday launched a sharp attack on India and Russia describing both as "dead economies" and declaring his disinterest in America's trade engagement with either.His remarks came hours after the he announced a new 25% tariff on India and an additional penalty for continuing strategic trade with Russia.Taking to Truth Social, Trump said that Washington has done very little business with New Delhi and claimed the latter's tariffs are among the highest in the world."I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let's keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he's still President, to watch his words. He's entering very dangerous territory," he said.Trump's India announcement came just a day after New Delhi confirmed that a U.S. trade delegation would visit New Delhi on August 25 for the sixth round of negotiations on a proposed bilateral trade agreement. The timing has led many in India to view the move as a pressure tactic aimed at pushing India to accept U.S. demands in the ongoing trade talks.According to officials, the penalty imposed alongside the new tariff relates specifically to India's increasing energy and defence trade with Russia. India's import of Russian crude oil has jumped from 0.2% before the Russia-Ukraine war to about 35-40% of its total oil purchases, making it Moscow's second-largest buyer after China. India has also continued to source advanced weapons systems from Russia despite Western sanctions.In an earlier statement, Trump described India's trade regime as having 'the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any country' and claimed that India's high tariffs have long discouraged American companies from entering the Indian market.'India will therefore be paying a tariff of 25 per cent, plus a penalty for the above, starting on August first,' Trump wrote.The White House has not yet disclosed the exact amount or scope of the penalty.India and the United States concluded their fifth round of trade talks in Washington earlier this year, led by India's special secretary in the Department of Commerce, Rajesh Agrawal, and Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Brendan Lynch.Bilateral trade between the two nations stood at $186 billion in 2024–25, with India maintaining a goods and services trade surplus of approximately $44.4 billion.India's top exports to the U.S. included drug formulations, telecom instruments, precious stones, petroleum products, auto components, and ready-made garments. Key imports from the U.S. were crude oil, petroleum products, coal, diamonds, electric machinery, aircraft parts, and gold.While the U.S. imposed lower tariffs on countries like Vietnam (20%) and Malaysia (25%), it has levied steeper duties on Bangladesh (35%) and Thailand (36%). A 10% baseline tariff on most Indian goods was already in effect since Trump's earlier April 2 announcement, with the additional 25% duty now adding to existing trade friction.
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