US President Donald Trump announced a 25 per cent plus tariff on India effective from August 1. While the US President described India as a “friend”, he said the US has done “little business” with India because of the Asian country’s high tariff.
In a post on the microblogging website Truth Social, which is owned by him, Mr Trump said India will also have to pay a penalty for buying a large number of Russian military equipment and oil amid the war in Ukraine.
“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,” Mr Trump said in the post on Truth Social.
“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 per cent, plus a penalty for the above, starting on August 1. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAGA!” the US president said in the post today.
His comments did not appear any different than what he made in the past on tariffs with respect to India. Here are some of them:
May 2025 – “Make iPhones In US”
“I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else. If that is not the case, a tariff of at least 25 per cent must be paid by Apple to the US. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
October 2024 – “India Is A Very Big Charger”
“Perhaps the most important element of my plan to make America extraordinarily wealthy again is reciprocity. It’s a word that’s very important in my plan because we generally don’t charge tariffs. I started that process, it was so great, with the vans and the small trucks, etc… We really don’t charge. China will charge us a 200 per cent tariff. Brazil is a big charger. The biggest charger of all is India. India is a very big charger. We have a great relationship with India. I did. And especially the leader, [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi. He’s a great leader. Great man. Really is a great man. He’s brought it together. He’s done a great job. I mean, I think they probably charge more than, in many ways, China. But they do it with a smile. They do it… Sort of a nicer charge. They said thank you so much for purchasing from India.”
September 2018 – “India Wants Deal”
“Frankly, I’ll tell you, India called us the other day. They said they would like to start doing a trade deal, for the first time. They wouldn’t talk about it with previous administrations. They were very happy with the way it was.”
October 2018 – “Tariff King”
“India, which is the tariff king, they called us and they said, ‘we want to start negotiations immediately’.
