President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the United States would impose a 25 per cent tariff on goods imported from India, alongside an additional “penalty” import tax, citing India’s significant trade barriers and continued purchasing of Russian oil and military equipment.
In a social media post, Trump stated that while India “is our friend”, its existing tariffs on US goods were “far too high, among the highest in the World”. He also criticised India’s “most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country”.
The Republican president added that India’s procurement of military equipment and oil from Russia had enabled the war in Ukraine. As a result, he intended to charge an additional “penalty” on Indian imports starting this Friday, as part of his administration’s revised tariffs on multiple countries.
This move follows Washington running a US$45.8 billion trade imbalance in goods with New Delhi last year, according to the US Census Bureau.
The Indian government said in a statement on Wednesday that it had taken note of the US decision, and added that it was studying its implications.
TS Vishwanath, a principal adviser at international trade consultancy ASL-Legal in New Delhi, warned that Indian exports in textiles, electronics, and electrical products would be particularly affected by the new tariffs.