US to impose 25% tariffs on India from August 1: What did Trump say?

The US has imposed 25% tariffs on Indian goods, with an additional import tax on Russian oil, effective August 1. President Donald Trump said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India are "good friends", but India's tariffs on US products are "far too high", while announcing the tariffs on his Truth Social account. 

He also reiterated that India buys its oil from Russia and has most of its military equipment imported from Moscow despite its ongoing war with Ukraine. Trump stated that, as a consequence, the US will charge an additional 'penalty', effective this Friday (August 1, 2025), under the revised tariffs launched on multiple countries. 

Addressing the press at the White House on Wednesday, Trump said that US and India are still in talks about trade negotiations, despite the tariffs. He said, "We are talking to India now. We will see what happens." 

While referring to the BRICS grouping and the "huge" trade deficit with India, Trump added, "Well, we are negotiating right now. And, it's also BRICS. You know, they have BRICS, which is basically a group of countries that are anti-US, and India is a member of that...It is an attack on the dollar, and we are not going to let anybody attack the dollar." 

The announcement of imposing 25% tariffs on India came as a surprise, a day after the Indian officials confirmed a US trade team's visit to India from August 25 for a trade deal negotiation. 

Trump, while responding to an additional penalty that would be imposed on India, said, "So, it is partially BRICS, and it is partially the trade situation, it's a deficit. We have a tremendous deficit. So, as you know, Prime Minister Modi is a friend of mine, but they don't do very much business in terms of business with us."   

Adding further, Trump said, "They sell a lot to us. But we don't buy from them. You know why? Because the tariff is so high, they have one of the highest tariffs in the world. Now, they are willing to cut it very substantially. But we will see what happens." 

He ended, "We are talking to India now, we will see what happens. It doesn't matter too much whether we have a deal or whether we charge them a certain tariff, but you will know by the end of this week." 

Earlier, US Senator Lindsay Graham and NATO Chief Mark Rutte had warned of imposing tariffs and additional sanctions on countries that continue to trade with Russia. 

Responding to the announcement, the Indian Government stated, "India and US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a 'fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial' bilateral trade agreement over the last few months, and India remains committed to that objective."