India to pay 25% tariffs from August 1 due to Russian oil purchases

By FnF Correspondent | PUBLISHED: 30, Jul 2025, 18:36 pm IST | UPDATED: 30, Jul 2025, 19:01 pm IST

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a 25 per cent tariff on India from August 1, citing New Delhi's oil and gas trade with Russia as the key reason. He also stated that New Delhi would face an additional penalty for continuing its oil and military purchases from Russia amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social platform, saying, "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. 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 1st. Thank you for your attention to this matter," the US president added.

US has massive trade deficit with India: Trump

In a separate post, Donald Trump claimed that the United States has a "massive trade deficit" with India.

This follows recent remarks by US Senator Lindsey Graham, who warned that Trump would introduce harsh tariffs on nations continuing to import oil from Russia. Graham specifically mentioned India, China and Brazil, accusing them of buying nearly 80 per cent of discounted Russian oil, which he said fuels Vladimir Putin’s war efforts. “President Trump is going to put a 100 per cent tariff on all those countries, punishing them for helping Putin,” he said.

NATO chief Mark Rutte also issued a stern message to countries trading with Russia, cautioning that they could face 100 per cent tariffs and further sanctions. He singled out India, China and Brazil, urging them to stop business ties with Moscow.

India-US trade deal

Trump’s announcement comes after days of speculation about the tariff rate he would impose on India. Earlier on Tuesday, he had hinted at a 20 to 25 per cent tariff, though he noted that a final decision had not yet been made.

While calling India a “good friend,” Trump reiterated his long-standing criticism of New Delhi’s trade practices, stating that the country imposes higher tariffs on American goods than almost any other nation.

“India has been a good friend, but India has charged basically more tariffs than almost any other country… You just can’t do that,” Trump was quoted as saying aboard Air Force One.