Informist, Wednesday, Jul. 30, 2025

NEW DELHI – Confirming the worst fears of Indian exporters, US President Donald Trump Wednesday announced that the US will impose 25% tariffs on Indian goods being shipped to the country, along with an additional penalty, from Friday.

"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," Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social.

The 25% tariff is only slightly lower than the 26% duty that Trump had announced in April, which was eventually suspended till Aug. 1.

Trump said India will pay a penalty over the 25% tariff for its procurement of military equipment and energy from Russia. "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," Trump said.

Trump did not fully mention the details of the penalty that would be imposed on India. India and the US have been working on a Bilateral Trade Agreement since February. So far, the two sides have held five rounds of talks. Informist Tuesday reported a delegation of officials from the US is likely to arrive in New Delhi on Aug. 25 for the next round of negotiations for the proposed trade agreement.

The 25% duty and the penalty could significantly hurt India's exports, as the US is India's top export destination with a share of nearly 20% in total outbound shipments. India exported goods worth $86.51 billion to the US in 2024-25 (Apr-Mar) and had a trade surplus of $40.82 billion, according to commerce ministry data.

Trump has announced reciprocal tariffs on several countries, which will come into effect from Friday, in a bid to lower US' trade deficit. The US has also signed numerous trade deals with its trading partners such as the UK, the European Union, and Japan, allowing access to US goods to these countries.

Notably, Trump's announcement of tariffs on India was different from other countries. Trump had earlier shared official letters sent to countries detailing the tariffs they will face but the announcement for India came on a regular post on Truth Social. End

Reported by Shubham Rana

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

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