Trump says India will face tariff, ‘penalty’ for buying Russian military equipment, energy

President Trump on Wednesday said he will impose a 25 percent tariff on India, as well as a penalty for buying military equipment and energy from Russia amid the war in Ukraine.

“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,” Trump said on Truth Social.

He continued, “Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE — ALL THINGS NOT GOOD! INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST.”

Trump previously threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on India. His reciprocal tariffs on trading partners are set to start on Friday.

“No, it’s not,” Trump told reporters Tuesday when asked if a deal with India was finalized.

Top administration officials, including Trump, have insisted for months that a deal with India was pending but had yet to announce one.

The president in recent weeks has also grown increasingly frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin and shorted the timeline for him to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine to within the next two weeks.

Without a ceasefire, he has warned that Russia would face additional sanctions and tariffs and he has indicated he would impose a 100 percent “secondary” tariff, which would target other nations that do business with Russia.