After US President Donald Trump proposed a new 25% tariff on Indian imports, the Indian government quickly and strongly promised to “protect national interest.” The additional duty is a “penalty” for India’s continuous purchases of Russian oil. The overall tariff on many Indian items is now 50%, up from 25% on August 1st.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) made an official statement that was very forceful, calling the levies “unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable.” The MEA said again that India’s imports are based on “market factors” and are needed to make sure that “1.4 billion people of India have energy security.”
Statement by Official Spokesperson⬇️
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) August 6, 2025
🔗 https://t.co/BNwLm9YmJc pic.twitter.com/DsvRvhd61D
The MEA added, “It is very 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.”
India has struck back against Trump’s attacks before. The MEA has said before that the US and the EU were being hypocritical because they were also “indulging in trade with Russia.” India’s statement made it apparent that the US still buys important goods from Russia, such as “uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear industry, palladium for its EV industry, fertilizers, and chemicals.”
A report from Reuters says that India has become one of Russia’s biggest purchasers of seaborne crude. Before the conflict in Ukraine, India didn’t buy much crude from Russia, but in recent months, it has bought more than 35–40% of its total oil imports. India was able to take advantage of lower costs when Western sanctions were put on Russia because of this rise in imports.
The ongoing tariff battle has caused a lot of problems between the US and India. Trump says the penalties are a response to India’s commerce with Russia and its membership in the BRICS organization, which he calls “anti-American.” The Indian government has, however, made it clear that it would not be persuaded by outside pressure and will continue to make decisions based on its own economic and security interests.