Trump Says Will Raise Tariffs On India ‘Substantially’ In Next 24 Hours

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he will raise tariffs on India again within 24 hours. This comes after he announced a 25 per cent tariff from August 7.

In an interview with CNBC, Trump said, “India has the highest tariffs. We do very little business with India. We settled on 25 per cent, but I think I am going to raise that substantially within the next 24 hours.”

He accused India of buying Russian oil and supporting the Russian war machine. A day earlier, he made similar claims and said India profits from reselling Russian oil.

India strongly objected to the US move.

The Ministry of External Affairs called the pressure ‘unjustified and unreasonable’. It said India will take all steps to protect its national interest and economic security.

The government said India began importing Russian oil after Europe diverted its supplies during the Ukraine war. At that time, the US encouraged India’s oil trade with Russia to help stabilise energy markets.

India stressed it acts in line with its economic needs, like any major economy.

Russia also responded sharply. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said US threats were ‘illegitimate’. He said every sovereign nation has the right to choose its own trade partners.

“We do not consider such statements to be legitimate,” Peskov told state media agency TASS.

He further added that trade decisions must reflect a country’s interests, not outside pressure.

Meanwhile, Trump continues to target India’s oil imports from Russia. His plan to further raise tariffs on India has triggered strong pushback from both Delhi and Moscow.

Also Read: Russia Slams Trump’s Tariff Warning To India; Calls Pressure Illegal