President Donald Trump of the United States stepped up his criticism of the trade relationship with India on Monday, calling it a “one-sided disaster” in a post on his Truth Social platform. The statements come after his administration put a huge 50% tax on Indian imports.
Trump said that India has now agreed to lower its import levies on American goods to “nothing.” He did say, though, that this offer was “getting late” and should have been made “years ago.” The Modi government hasn’t said anything about Trump’s assertions yet.
This new development comes barely a week after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the poor pace of trade deal discussions and India’s continued purchase of Russian oil were both reasons for the higher levies. The U.S. has been more and more open about how unhappy it is with India’s trade surplus, which was $45.8 billion in 2024. India sent $87.3 billion worth of commodities to the U.S. and only $41.5 billion worth of goods back.
Trump also talked about how close India is to Russia, saying that “most of its oil and military goods come from Russia, and very little comes from the US.” He has used this reason several times to explain the “penalty” tariffs on Indian goods. This pressure from the Trump administration comes at the same time as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent trips to Japan and China, when he talked about India’s long-standing ties with Russia. This could mean that global trade forces are shifting.
The new 50% tariffs, which went into effect at the end of August, are likely to have a big influence on India’s economy. These tariffs have a big impact on industries that need a lot of workers, like textiles, diamonds, jewelry, shoes, and leather items. Some industries, like medicines and electronics, have mostly been left out for now. However, experts say that India’s exports to the U.S. might drop a lot, from around $87 billion in 2024 to about $50 billion by 2026. This might have an effect on India’s GDP of roughly 1% and cause a lot of people to lose their jobs.