US President Donald Trump has once again warned of raising tariffs on India, saying he will “substantially increase” the duties imposed on Indian goods entering the United States. The warning, issued on Monday via his Truth Social account, comes just a week after he announced a 25% tariff, citing what he called India’s “very high tariffs” on American goods and its growing trade and military relationship with Russia.
“India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian oil, they are then, for much of the oil purchased, selling it on the open market for big profits,” Trump wrote. “They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian war machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the tariff paid by India to the USA. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!”
Trump’s post links India’s continued oil imports from Russia to the Ukraine conflict, suggesting that New Delhi’s trade practices are undermining international efforts to isolate Moscow. His comments come as he tries to push for a ceasefire in Ukraine and apply pressure on countries maintaining close economic ties with Russia.
This isn’t the first time Trump has lashed out at India. In another post last week, he accused India of shielding its economy through high tariffs and tough non-monetary trade barriers.
“I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care,” Trump said then. “We have done very little business with India. Their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world.”
In the same message, Trump announced a 25% reciprocal tariff on Indian goods and warned of further penalties due to India’s purchase of Russian oil and military equipment.
So far, there has been no official response from the Indian government to Trump’s recent remarks.
