US President Donald Trump has laid out plans to impose 50% tariff on Indian goods in a draft notice which was released on Monday. This clearly shows that the White House is pushing ahead with higher tariffs as peace talks between Russia and Ukraine appear to be not moving forward.
The notice from the Department of Homeland Security said the new tariffs will apply to Indian goods “for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 am eastern daylight time on August 27, 2025” (9:30 am on Aug 27 as per IST), a Bloomberg report said.
Earlier this month, Trump had announced that the US would double the tariffs on Indian goods from 25% to 50% due to buying of Russian oil. The step is aimed at pressuring Russia to end its war in Ukraine by targeting India’s oil trade with Moscow.
India has criticised these “secondary tariffs” as unfair but has also said that progress in peace talks could remove the need for such measures.
‘We will keep increasing our strength to stand tariff pressure’: PM Modi
Ahead of Trump’s tariff penalty on India for buying Russian oil takes effect, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a large gathering in Ahmedabad on Monday that India would continue to strengthen itself to withstand outside pressure.
He assured the crowd that the Indian government would protect the interests of small entrepreneurs, farmers, and livestock rearers, and that he would not allow any harm come their way.
His comments came a day after US Vice President JD Vance told NBC News that Trump was using strong economic measures, including secondary tariffs on India, to limit Russia’s oil revenue and push Moscow to end its attacks on Ukraine.
Without directly naming the US or its tariffs, Modi said the world is driven by economic self-interest, with each country looking out for itself. He added that, despite external pressure, his priority would remain safeguarding India’s small business owners, shopkeepers, farmers, and livestock keepers.
Trump may put additional tariffs on Russian trading partners
Trump has indicated that he might put more tariffs on Russia’s trading partners or add new sanctions on Moscow if there is no progress on a peace deal, saying there could be “very big consequences” in the coming weeks.
So far, the US has avoided placing similar sanctions on other big buyers of Russian oil, especially China.
Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been focusing on stronger ties with both Russia and China as Trump pushes ahead with tariff threats. India has said it will continue purchasing Russian oil despite the US tariffs.