India tariff news highlights: Trump to meet Putin next week amid tariff tensions with India

NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday reacted to the 50% tariff imposed by the US on Indian goods, calling it a pressure tactic. “This is an attempt to pressure us... I do not want to say today that diplomacy has failed... Nobody has control over Trump," Pawar told ANI

Commenting on the U.S. President Donald Trump said, “ he (Trump) does whatever comes to his mind. Not much attention should be paid to him."

Congress leader Sukhdeo Bhagat recently reacted to the telephonic interview between PM Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, acknowledging historical ties between the two nations. “Certainly, we have had very good relations with Russia. Recently, due to a policy of PM Modi, it got a bit affected,” he told PTI.

Bhagat questioned Modi’s silence on U.S. President Donald Trump, asking, “Why is he not talking with Trump?” He further added, “It seems, Rahul Gandhi correctly said, the interest of a businessman friend has become more important than national interests. It looks like he is not able to choose between Trump and Adani.”

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham called on India to use its influence with Russia to help end the war in Ukraine, saying it would be “one of the most consequential things they could do to improve India-US relations.” In an X post, he stated, “As I have been telling my friends in India... help President Trump end this bloodbath in Ukraine.”

Graham also pointed out that India is the second largest purchaser of Putin's cheap oil and expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ha urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war “justly, honourably and forever.”

Foreign Affairs Expert Robinder Sachdev emphasised the significance of the recent phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling it a moment of major geopolitical importance. “This conversation between PM Modi and President Putin is coming at a very crucial time in world affairs,” he told ANI.

Sachdev highlighted the timing, noting that India’s NSA Ajit Doval had been in Moscow recently and that the call coincided with a US imposed deadline for Russia to present a peace plan on Ukraine.He also pointed out India's firm stance on U.S. tariffs: “India is also facing tariffs of 50% by America... the Govt of India is standing up and saying that we will take decisions only in our sole national interest.”

India tariff news LIVE updates: US President Donald Trump repeated the claim that he got "things settled" between India and Pakistan following the four-day military conflict that could have turned into a "nuclear conflict". Speaking at the White House on Friday, Trump also claimed that five or six planes "got shot down" during the recent conflict between the countries.

India tariff news LIVE updates: US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will hold talks in Alaska next Friday in a bid to end the Ukraine War. On his Truth Social site on Friday, Trump announced that his meeting with Putin would be held in the far-north US state of Alaska on August 15, which was later confirmed by the Kremlin.

India remains a key strategic partner for the United States, the US State Department emphasised on Thursday amid mounting tensions between New Delhi and Washington. The department’s principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott told reporters that America would pursue a “full and frank” dialogue with India.

“What I can say in terms of India is that the President (Donald Trump) has been very clear in terms of the concerns he has regarding the trade imbalance, regarding the concerns he has when it comes to the (Indian) purchase of Russian oil. You have seen him take action directly on that,” Pigott said at a press briefing in response to a question about Prime Minister Modi’s reported upcoming visit to China for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Read more.

Amid the ongoing Ukraine conflict and matters concerning India-Russia ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation on Friday to discuss a range of issues.

Kremlin has reportedly confirmed that Putin and PM Modi discussed trade, economic and investment cooperation, news agency Reuters reported. They also reportedly spoke about Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff visiting Moscow this week.

Not just trade and bilateral ties, the two leaders also discussed the Ukraine conflict, Modi said, thanking Putin for sharing the latest developments on the crisis. Read more.

United States President Donald Trump indicated on Wednesday, while announcing additional 25% tariffs on India, that China could also face additional tariffs for doing business with Russia.

When asked by a reporter at the White House whether he has any similar plans to enact more tariffs on China, Trump replied, “Could happen. Depends on how we do. Could happen.”

Later, he also said that apart from India, a couple of more countries could see similar additional tariffs, one of which could be China.

When a reporter asked, “China having that tariff or sanction rather or not hinges on what going forward?” Trump said, “It may happen. I mean I don't know. I can't tell you yet but I can. We did it with India. We're doing it probably with a couple of others. One of them could be China.”

China on Thursday slammed the United States for doubling the tariffs on India to 50 per cent, saying that Beijing's opposition to the abuse of tariffs has been consistent and clear.

The Chinese Foreign Minister criticised the Donald Trump administration for what it said was the "abuse of tariffs" after the US imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on India over its continued purchase of Russian oil.

India has suddenly found itself in the crosshairs of the US renewed bid to pressure Russia over the Ukraine conflict. On August 6, President Donald Trump announced a hike in US tariffs on Indian goods to 50 per cent from the existing 25 per cent, citing New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil. India hit back, saying the move was “unfair” and “unjustified.”

Donald Trump's penalty on India is intended to squeeze Moscow’s oil earnings and push President Vladimir Putin towards a ceasefire. The higher tariffs will take effect in 21 days, on August 27.

What's next for India? Click here to read.

The first tranche of 25 per cent tariffs announced by United States President Donald Trump came into effect on Thursday, August 7. This will double by August 27, when the additional 25 per cent tariffs announced by Trump, as a penalty for purchasing oil from Russia, also come into effect, making the total US tariffs on India a whopping 50 per cent.

Due to such high tariffs, the Indian goods in the US will become much more expensive, which would lead to a nearly half-slash in US exports, according to the think tank GTRI. Read more.

US President Donald Trump hiking up tariffs on Indian imports to 50 per cent has not gone down well with senator Gregory Meeks, who said the move puts the relationship that New Delhi and Washington have fostered over the years at risk.

Reacting to the tariff move, the Democrat said on Friday, "Trump's latest tariff tantrum risks years of careful work to build a stronger US-India partnership." Read more.

The 50% tariff imposed by the Trump administration has left Punjab and Haryana basmati growers and exporters deeply worried, fearing a severe impact on aromatic grain exports to the US as neighbouring Pakistan gains a significant competitive advantage. Read more.

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met Russia's first Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov and discussed “topical issues of Russia- India military-technical cooperation, as well as the implementation of joint projects in other strategic sectors, including civil aircraft manufacturing, metallurgy, and the chemical industry,” said the Russian embassy on Friday.

Day before the meeting with Manturov, NSA Doval had held talks with President Putin and Russia's Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu on August 7.

President Donald Trump on Thursday hailed his sweeping tariffs as a catalyst for record-breaking stock market gains and a surge in government revenue, while warning of catastrophic consequences if courts overturn his policy.

“Tariffs are having a huge positive impact on the Stock Market. Almost every day, new records are set,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. He claimed “hundreds of billions of dollars” were flowing into US coffers and warned that if a “Radical Left Court” struck down the measures, “it would be 1929 all over again, a GREAT DEPRESSION!”

Read more.

India tariff news LIVE updates: United States President Donald Trump has announced that next week, on August 15, he will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Informing about the meet, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska. Further details to follow. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Tourism Expert Committee Chairman at the Chamber of Commerce, Subhash Goyal, has questioned why India is being singled out over its purchase of Russian oil, saying the European Union has bought "much more gas" from Moscow than India.

He said, "India will buy oil from wherever it gets the cheapest."

Oil held steady on Friday as markets awaited a meeting in coming days between Russian president Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump, but prices marked their steepest weekly losses since late June on a tariff-hit economic outlook.

The 50% tariff imposed by the Trump administration has left Punjab and Haryana basmati growers and exporters deeply worried, fearing severe impact on aromatic grain exports to the US as neighbouring Pakistan gains a significant competitive advantage.

The Canadian economy lost tens of thousands of jobs in July, sending the share of people employed to an eight-month low, data showed on Friday, as the labor market gave back the gains seen in the prior month.

The economy shed 40,800 jobs in July, compared with a net addition of 83,000 jobs in June, taking the employment rate, or the percentage of people employed out of the total working-age population, to 60.7%, Statistics Canada said. The unemployment rate, however, remained steady at a near multi-year high of 6.9%.

The first casualty of a hefty 39-percent tariff on Swiss imports into the United States may be gold refining, after it emerged that certain gold bars could face the levy.

The price of gold on the US futures market hit a record high Friday after US customs authorities clarified that gold bars weighing either one kilogram or 100 ounces (2.8 kilograms) should be classified as subject to so-called reciprocal tariffs.

Data from the National Retail Federation showed on Friday that imports into the United States fell more than expected in June as concerns around shifting tariff policies hit retailers, raising fears of fewer product options in stores for shoppers.

The World Trade Organisation predicted subdued global merchandise trade this year and next, saying activity remains clouded by President Donald Trump’s tariffs on US imports. It also lifted its estimate for 2025.

A White House official told Reuters on Friday that the Donald Trump administration intends to issue an executive order soon "clarifying misinformation" about tariffs on gold bars and other speciality products.