President Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hold a joint press conference in
the East Room of the White House on Feb. 13.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
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Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
President Trump on Wednesday said that the United States will begin imposing 25% tariffs on
goods imported from India on Aug. 1.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said that while India is a friend of the U.S., “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.”
Trump also said he would impose an additional penalty on India for its trade relationship with
Russia, which Trump is trying to pressure to come to a ceasefire with Ukraine. Trump did not
elaborate on what that penalty would be or if it would also go into effect on Friday.
Trump’s announcement came after five rounds of trade negotiations have yet to yield a result,
dashing hopes that a deal could be concluded by Aug. 1. Indian media reported Tuesday that U.S. officials were expected to visit New Delhi
for the sixth round in late August.
The U.S. is India’s top export market. Its top products sold to the U.S. include electronics
like iPhones, cheap medicines and precious stones. Last year, U.S. goods trade with India was
nearly $130
billion, according to USTR. The U.S. goods trade deficit with India was $45.7 billion in
2024. Trump has blamed India’s high tariffs on imports for the trade deficit.
A tough negotiation
India was among the first countries to begin trade negotiations with the U.S. Since February, its
trade minister Piyush Goyal has traveled to Washington, D.C. multiple times. Even amid
speculations that India might not make Trump’s deadline, Goyal told Reuters that the two countries were making “fantastic” progress.
Early on, New Delhi showed willingness to lower some of its tariffs. At the February meeting at
the White House, India had agreed to buy American oil and fighter jets, and give concessions to
products like bourbon whiskey and Harley Davidson motorcycles. In the following months, India did
not protest the increased visa restrictions for students and workers, and mutely accepted the deportation of hundreds of Indians in handcuffs.
Indian officials have largely been tight-lipped about the negotiations. But a few weeks ago, local
media reported the two sides were unable to iron out differences over tariffs in dairy and
agriculture, two sectors where India has high import barriers. In an interview with an Indian business daily, finance minister Nirmala
Sitharaman said agriculture and dairy were the two “big red lines,” and that the government
wouldn’t do anything that would “weaken our farmers’ positions.”
India has protected the two sectors, saying they provide livelihood to millions of Indian
farmers. In 2020, tens of thousands of Indian farmers had protested for more than a year after the Indian government introduced laws
reducing government procurement and allowing in the free market. The government was forced to repeal the laws.