New Delhi – In a move that has sent shockwaves through the Indian export industry, U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a proposal for a 25% tax on Indian imports, along with extra penalties, to take effect on August 1, 2025. The announcement was made in an interview with ANI and amplified on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Trump justified the decision as a reaction to what he called India’s high tariff regime and its growing participation in the BRICS alliance.
“We are talking to them now,” Trump stated in response to a question on whether the U.S. is open to negotiations. “We’ll wait and see. India had the highest tariff in the world, or almost the highest one. At the moment, we are talking with India.”
While he referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “a friend,” Trump emphasized that the commercial relationship remains unbalanced. “They sell a lot to us, but we don’t buy from them… because the tariff is so high,” he said, adding, “They are prepared to make significant cuts, but we’ll see what transpires.”
The Dollar Factor and BRICS
Trump directly linked the tariffs to India’s membership in BRICS, a bloc he sees as a threat to U.S. economic dominance. “India is a member of the BRICS, which is basically a bloc of nations hostile to the United States,” he said. “It is an attack on the dollar, and we will not allow anyone to attack the dollar.”
In a post on Truth Social, Trump further criticized India’s foreign policy, stating, “Remember that although India is a friend of ours, we haven’t done much business with them over the years due to their excessively high tariffs…Additionally, they have the most onerous and annoying non-monetary trade restrictions of any nation.”
He also denounced India’s military and energy ties with Russia, stating, “They 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!”
Trade experts and businesses have warned that such aggressive actions could have significant economic repercussions, potentially straining both diplomatic and business relationships between the two countries.
