US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that Indian imports will face a steep 25% tariff starting Friday, while also warning of penalties over New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian weapons and energy.
The move marks a sharp escalation in Trump’s effort to pressure Russia and its key partners amid Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Trump said India’s trade practices and close ties with Moscow can no longer be tolerated.
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“Remember, while India is our friend, we have done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the world,” Trump posted on Truth Social. He called India’s non-monetary trade barriers “strenuous and obnoxious.”
Trump added in an all-caps message that the US has a “MASSIVE” trade deficit with India, which he accused of being Russia’s top buyer of energy and a major importer of Russian military equipment.
While he did not specify what penalties India could face over its dealings with Russia, the move signals growing impatience in Washington as the Kremlin continues its invasion of Ukraine despite Trump’s plea for a ceasefire.
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The announcement came one day after Trump said he would shorten a previously announced 50-day ultimatum to Russian President Vladimir Putin, now giving him just 10 days to begin a ceasefire or face additional sanctions.
“There’s no reason for waiting,” Trump said Monday. “I’m very disappointed in President Putin – very disappointed.”
Trump initially issued the ultimatum on July 14, threatening crushing secondary sanctions if Moscow failed to show signs of ending its assault on Ukraine. But with continued Russian attacks, Trump said the Kremlin had violated what he believed were informal peace understandings.
“We thought we had that settled numerous times,” Trump said during a joint appearance with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “And then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people… bodies lying all over the streets.”
Russia launched hundreds of drones across Ukraine on Monday morning, with a Russian guided aerial bomb killing one and destroying a medical clinic in Kharkiv a few days prior.
Trump’s move against India follows months of stalled trade talks. Negotiations began shortly after his return to office in January, but have failed to produce a deal, largely due to India’s refusal to open its agricultural and dairy sectors.
The new tariffs represent a sharp jump from the existing 10% baseline and come just days after Trump warned that India could face a 20–25% rate without a deal.
India, the world’s most populous country, had been considered a key strategic partner in Washington’s broader Asia policy. But its deepening defense and energy ties with Russia have drawn criticism from US officials, particularly as Trump tries to isolate the Kremlin economically and diplomatically.
Trump has also threatened to impose steep tariffs on dozens of other countries beginning Friday unless new bilateral deals are struck. Brazil, for example, may face a 50% tariff hike – a move partly aimed at pressuring the government over the ongoing trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro on coup-related charges.
In recent weeks, senior administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have accused Russia of using “delay tactics” to prolong the war in Ukraine. Rubio also said China has quietly backed Moscow’s war effort via various aid and oil purchases that sustained Moscow’s war machine.