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Donald Trump's Independence Day gift to India: 25 per cent tariffs from 1 August

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National Heraldpublisher-detail-arrow
30th July, 2025 19:20 IST

US president Donald Trump has announced a 25 per cent tariff on India from 1 August, amid signs of some stalemate in the ongoing negotiations between the two countries on a bilateral trade deal.

Trump, announcing the tariff, listed India's high tariffs, its procurement of "vast majority" of military equipment and energy from Russia as well as "obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers".

India will be paying a "tariff of 25 per cent plus a penalty" from 1 August, he said, adding "we have a massive trade deficit with India".

The US president, in a social media post, however, described India as a "friend".

"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," he said.

"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," he said.

"All things not good! India will therefore be paying a tariff of 25 per cent plus a penalty for the above starting on 1 August," the US president said.

Trump shortens ‘deadline’ to 10 days for Russia to end conflict with Ukraine, threatens tariffs

Jairam Ramesh of the Congress took note of the announcement well before the ‘hopeful’ response of negotiating a deal from the Government of India. The Opposition MP posted on X to say, "All that taarif between him and Howdy Modi has meant little."

"Mr. Modi thought that if he kept quiet on the insults that the US President has hurled on India — the 30 claims of stopping [Operation] Sindoor, the special lunch for the Pakistan Army Chief whose inflammatory remarks provided the immediate backdrop to the brutal Pahalgam terror attacks, and US support for financial packages to Pakistan from the IMF and the World Bank — India would get special treatment at the hands of President Trump. Clearly that has NOT happened," Ramesh wrote.

Echoing yesterday’s remark from Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition, in the Lok Sabha, Ramesh suggested, "[PM Modi] should take inspiration from [former prime minister] Indira Gandhi and stand up to the US president."

If he has 50 pc courage of Indira Gandhi, let PM Modi say Trump is lying: Rahul Gandhi in LS

A team from the US is scheduled to visit India next month for the next round of negotiations for the proposed bilateral trade agreement.

India and the US teams concluded the fifth round of talks for the agreement last week in Washington.

India's chief negotiator and special secretary in the department of commerce Rajesh Agrawal and assistant US trade representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch held the deliberations.

The official Congress handle, meanwhile, has called this announcement from the US a "catastrophic failure of foreign policy" on India’s part.

With PTI inputs

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