US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that “friend” India will be paying a 25 per cent tariff from August 1. Trump made the announcement on Truth Social, the social media network owned by the US President. "Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country. 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! INDIA 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!"
In a separate post, Trump said that the US has a "massive trade deficit" with India.The announcement comes after days of suspense over the tariff rate that the US President would impose on India. Earlier on Tuesday, Trump had hinted that he may hit India with a 20-25 per cent tariff rate. However, he added that nothing had been finalised.He also called India a "good friend" while reiterating that New Delhi levies more tariff on the US than "almost any other country".“India has been a good friend, but India has charged basically more tariffs than almost any other country… You just can’t do that,” Trump was quoted as saying aboard Air Force One on Tuesday.
The US President also criticised India’s continued purchases of Russian weapons and energy, especially during the ongoing war in Ukraine. He said India has always bought the majority of its military supplies from Russia and is one of the largest buyers of Russian energy, along with China.
India last signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with the UK. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal hailed the India-UK free FTA called it as a 'game-changing' deal that provides immense opportunities and benefits to farmers, businessmen, MSME sectors, young professionals and fishermen.