The White House has indicated that US President Donald Trump’s 50% tariff order on Indian goods could be subject to change if foreign governments respond with retaliatory measures. In a statement, officials noted that the administration is prepared to amend the tariff plan to maintain its intended economic impact, suggesting a flexible and reactive trade policy stance.
The announcement came a day after Trump escalated pressure on India over its continued purchase of Russian oil, warning that additional tariffs could be imposed within 24 hours.
“India has not been a good trading partner because they do a lot of business with us, but we don’t do business with them. So we settled on 25 percent, but I think I’m going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they’re buying Russian oil. They’re fueling the war machine,” Trump said in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday.
Reacting to the announcement, MEA released a statement, calling the move “extremely unfortunate” and “unjustified. The Ministry of External Affairs said India’s energy decisions are guided by market factors and aimed at ensuring the energy security of its 1.4 billion citizens.
“We have already made clear our position on these issues, including the fact that our imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India,” the MEA said. “It is therefore extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest.” Meanwhile, the US team is set to visit India on August 25 for the next round of negotiations for the proposed bilateral trade agreement between the two countries.