Trump imposes 25% tariff ‘plus a penalty’ on India

Donald Trump has said he will hit “friend” India with 25 per cent tariffs “plus a penalty” from 1 August, in part due to its ties with Russia.

- ARPAN RAI

The US president’s deadline for trade partners to ink agreements is tomorrow but New Delhi has yet to finalise a deal.

Writing on his Truth Social platform yesterday, Mr Trump said India's own protectionist policies over the years had meant America had "done relatively little business with them".

"Also, 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 Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE — ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!" he wrote.

He did not specify what he meant by a "penalty" above and beyond the high rate of tariffs. New Delhi and Washington were set to resume trade negotiations next month, and the Indian side had expected a deal to be reached by September or October.

India is banking on this deal to boost bilateral trade from $190bn to $500bn by 2030. India enjoys a trade surplus of about $46bn with the US.