Trump tariffs on India highlights: Govt ‘studying implications’ of US President's 25% duty move

US President Donald Trump is “frustrated” with the progress on trade talks with India, White House economic adviser said on Wednesday. “Well, India has had a market that's been pretty much closed to American products, and we've been wide open to theirs,” National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said in the White House, according to PTI. Hassett said that Trump “feels that a 25 per cent tariff will address and remedy the situation in a way that's good for the American people.”

BJP MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi said there was no reason "to be afraid" of the tariffs announced. "There is no reason to be afraid. India is a huge market, whose export has expanded exponentially, which will have a reciprocal effect... Under the guidance of PM Modi, we will face this with our tactics," he told ANI.

With 25 per cent tariff announcement for India, Apple's plans to expand iPhone manufacturing in India would likely be impacted. Besides, India's export of other electronics to the US will also take a hit.

"Today's sudden announcement of 25 per cent tariffs on exports from India to the US will certainly hit Apple's plan of making India as a large export hub for iPhone exports to US," IDC India, South Asia & ANZ, Associate Vice-President for devices research, Navkendar Singh, was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

FICCI's Director General Jyoti Vij has said that Trump's move to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Indian imports starting August 1 "will immediately impact India's export-intensive sector." However, she also showed faith that discussions between India and US will lead to “beneficial outcomes” for both sides.

India purchasing oil from Russia is back in focus with US President Donald Trump's announcement of “penalties” apart from the 25% tariffs on Indian imports. According to news agency Reuters, in the first six months of 2025, India has bought 35 per cent of its total oil supply from Russia.

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, has said that Donald Trump and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would announce the Russia-related tariff rates on India at a later date.

Donald Trump's 25 per cent tariff announcement for India, if imposed, stands to affect prices of its exports to America which include drug formulations, telecom instruments, precious and semi-precious stones, petroleum products, auto parts, read-made cotton garments and iron and steel products.

“FICCI is disappointed by the decision taken by the U.S. to levy a 25 per cent tariff on exports from India and impose secondary sanctions. While this move is unfortunate and will have a clear bearing on our exports, we hope that this imposition of higher tariffs will be a short-term phenomenon and that a permanent trade deal between the two sides will be finalised soon,” Harsha Vardhan Agarwal, President, FICCI, was quoted as saying by ANI.

Reacting to Trump's tariffs for India, Congress leader Tariq Anwar said the move symbolises the US President ‘rejecting India-US relations’.

“With this, in a way, he (US President Donald Trump) is rejecting India-US relations...This is a failure of our foreign policy...,” Anwar told news agency ANI.

In its first reaction to Trump's 25% tariff announcement for India, the government said it would take “all steps necessary to secure our national interest”. Citing the example of the recent India-UK Free Trade Agreement, the government said in a press release, “The Government will take all steps necessary to secure our national interest, as has been the case with other trade agreements including the latest Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the UK.”

Following Donald Trump's 25 per cent tariff announcement for India, alongside some unspecified penalties, the Indian government is “studying implications” of the move.

“The Government has taken note of a statement by the US President on bilateral trade. The Government is studying its implications. India and the US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement over the last few months. We remain committed to that objective,” the government said in a statement.

Shortly after Trump's 25% tariff announcement for India, the Indian rupee dropped offshore on Wednesday, reported Bloomberg. Indian stock futures also slid.

“This tariff announcement will lead to more pressure on the markets as the foreign investors will prefer to sit on the sidelines waiting for a trade deal between India and US,” said Abhay Agarwal, founder at Piper Serica Advisors.

Earlier this year in April, Trump announced 26 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India. However, its implementation was suspended for 90 days, and a July 9 deadline was set by Trump.

The deadline was later extended to August 1 and the US started announcing tariffs for many countries subsequently. All eyes were on India-US trade deal, with the US President had said was getting close to being finalised.

Breaking suspense over it, Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff for India today, saying additional penalties would also be imposed.

Congress leader Supriya Shrinate lashed out at the government after Trump's 25 per cent tariff announcement and said LoP Rahul Gandhi had “already warned” of it.

“Rahul Gandhi had already warned about this... This is going to impact our economy, exports, production and in turn, our jobs and employment. We export pharmaceuticals to the US, and with the 25% tariff, they will become expensive, resulting in decreased demand, subsequently leading to lower production and employment,” Shrinate said.

An economist reacted to Trump's tariff announcement for India, saying the “haggling” over trade is not over yet, and said the power dynamics between the two countries may change in US’s favour.

“While the negotiations seem to have broken down, we don't think the trade-deal haggling between the two nations is over yet. We see it more from the lens of geopolitics than purely economics and see both sides striving to get the deal done, even as the power equations may change a bit in US favour,” Madhavi Arora, an economist, was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters.

Congress MP Rajeev Shukla, when asked about the tariffs, called the move a “strategy against India”. This will affect the traders and economy of the country. Our government claims that Trump is their friend but he is taking back to back steps against India," the MP said.

Reacting to Donald Trump's tariff announcement for India, UBT Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi questioned PM Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, saying they must explain what led to the “unilateral decision” from the US.

"PM Modi has been in constant contact with US President Donald Trump. We were hopeful that a trade deal would be signed soon. However, Trump has suddenly imposed tariffs and penalties on India's trade, after repeatedly claiming to have mediated the India-Pakistan ceasefire nearly 30 times. Now, the Finance Minister and the Prime Minister must explain why such a unilateral decision has come from America," she was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Donald Trump has been frustrated with how trade talks with India are progressing and believes his 25% tariff announcement will help the situation, his economic advisor Kevin Hassett said on Wednesday.

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett has said that Donald Trump and Ambassador Jamieson Greer will have more information on additional penalties, apart from the 25 per cent tariffs, announced for India.

In a subsequent post on Truth Social following the tariffs announcement, Trump said the US had a “massive trade deficit with India”.

While he did not give specifics, Trump also said India would have to pay penalties, apart from the 25 per cent tariffs, but doing business with Russia. “INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST,” Trump's post read.

Announcing 25 per cent tariffs on Indian imports, Trump also called India ‘Russia’s largest buyer of energy, along with China’. Trump's remarks came days after he threatened ‘secondary sanctions’ if Russia did not agree to a deal to end the Ukraine war within 50 days. Several reports back then had said that the secondary sanctions would be on countries that purchase Russian energy.

US President Donald Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs on Indian imports. While he called India a “friend”, he also said there hasn't been much business between the US and India due to a “far too high” tariffs from India.