Trump Considering Hiking 25% Tariff on India ‘Very Substantially' in Next 24 Hours
New Delhi: US President Donald Trump has reiterated his intention to levy a tariff on Indian goods 'very substantially' higher than the 25% he announced last week, repeating his stance that he is unhappy with India's purchases of Russian oil even as Moscow continues its war with Ukraine.
In an interview to CNBC Television on Tuesday (August 5), Trump also claimed that while New Delhi has agreed to charge 'zero tariffs' on American goods, its offer is 'not good enough' as long as it continues to buy oil from Russia.
A day prior, Trump had said he would 'substantially raise' his 25% tariff on India – scheduled to go into effect on Thursday – because it was 'not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil' but selling much of this 'on the Open Market for big profits', drawing a rejoinder from the Ministry of External Affairs , which pointed to Washington as well as the EU's continuing economic links with Moscow.
Speaking to CNBC, Trump said on Tuesday that he was considering raising his 25% tariff on India 'very substantially over the next 24 hours' because of its purchases of Russian oil.
'So we settled on 25%, but I think I'm gonna raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they're buying Russian oil, they're fuelling the war machine. And if they're going to do that, then I'm not going to be very happy,' he told the channel.
Adding that India's tariffs on the US were too high, the president continued: 'Now I will say this. India went from the highest tariffs ever–they will give us zero tariffs … But that's not good enough, because of what they're doing with oil.'
Trump on July 30 announced that India would pay a 25% tariff as well as a yet-undisclosed 'penalty' for buying energy and military equipment from Russia.
This levy was to kick off two days later, but the executive order Trump signed deferred the date of its implementation to August 7.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday, Trump blamed India for not caring 'how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine', adding that because of its dealings with Moscow he would be 'substantially raising the tariff paid by India to the USA'.
New Delhi, which had stuck to its cautious approach to the issue when Trump announced the tariff and also went on to call India's economy 'dead', responded by accusing Washington and Brussels of 'targeting' India in an 'unjustified and unreasonable' manner.
Charging the US with 'actively encouraging' its imports of Russian oil shortly after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the Ministry of External Affairs pointed to the US as well as the EU's continuing trade with Russia in various sectors after the latter's invasion began.
'In this background, the targeting of India is unjustified and unreasonable. Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,' it said in a statement.
Citing the US's trade deficit with India as well as the latter's high tariffs, Trump had unveiled a 26% 'reciprocal' tariff on India earlier this year but deferred it pending the completion of negotiations over a trade deal.
Talks pursuant to that deal are ongoing but New Delhi's resistance to opening up its dairy and agricultural sector to America is reportedly a sticking point.
There is no sign of a deal yet even as Trump has claimed on more than one occasion that India has agreed to lower its tariffs.
Bilateral ties have also taken a hit amid Trump's repeated claims – consistently denied by India – that he mediated a ceasefire to the Indo-Pakistani military conflict in May by using trade with the two countries as leverage.
The perception of a tilt towards Pakistan was reinforced when Trump hosted a luncheon for Pakistan's army chief , Field Marshal Asim Munir, and more recently taunted India after finalising a trade deal with Islamabad that includes the development of its 'massive' oil reserves.
Meanwhile, India since 2022 has emerged as a top buyer of Russian crude oil – which has come under heavy sanctions from the US and its allies.
Russia now accounts for nearly 40% of India's oil imports, while Delhi is currently Moscow's second-largest buyer after China.
The tariffs have also cast a cloud over the two sides' burgeoning defence partnership. This article went live on August fifth, two thousand twenty five, at fifty-nine minutes past nine at night.
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