Trump says India to pay 25pc tariff from Aug 1 with additional penalty for Russian energy purchases

United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday imposed a 25 per cent tariff on goods imported from India starting August 1, along with an unspecified penalty for buying Russian weapons and oil, potentially straining relations with the world’s most populous democracy. The US decision singles out India more severely than other major trading partners, and threatens to unravel months of talks between the two countries, undermining a key strategic partner of Washington and a counterbalance to China. In posts on his social platform Truth Social, he said the US had a “massive trade deficit” with India. In another post, he said: “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.