United States President Donald Trump, on 5 January, has again threatened India with tariffs for buying Russian oil, Reuters reported. Speaking to reporters, he said, “We could raise tariffs on India if they don’t help on Russian oil issue”.
He was, however, also positive, adding that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “is a good guy” and India “wanted to make me happy”.
“… They wanted to make me happy, basically… PM Modi’s a very good man. He’s a good guy. He knew I was not happy. It was important to make me happy. They do trade, and we can raise tariffs on them very quickly…” ANI quoted him as saying.
What did Donald Trump tell reporters? Check here
In the audio released by the White House, Trump can be heard telling reporters aboard Air Force One that he could “quickly” raise tariffs on India if the matter of Russian oil purchases is not addressed to his satisfaction.
Meanwhile, US Senator Lindsey Graham, who was alongside Trump, told reporters that India is working on US demands. “I was at the Indian Ambassador’s house a month ago, and all he wanted to talk about was how India is buying less Russian oil. And he asked me to tell the president to relieve the 25% tariff,” he said.
The US previously imposed a 50% tariff on India, 25% of which was “punishment” for buying Russian crude, according to Trump. India has among the highest duties imposed on it by the US, with a 10% first applied, followed by tariffs reaching 25% on 7 August, and 50% by the end of the same month last year.
India and the US are working on an extensive Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with a first tranche expected to be concluded and announced soon.
India-US trade takes 37% hit amid Trump tariffs
Notably, India’s exports to the US slumped for the fourth straight month across sectors, analysis by trade think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) showed in December.
Indian exports to the US tanked 37.5% across all sectors between May and September 2025, from $8.8 billion to $5.5 billion — one of the steepest short-term collapses in years, as per the analysis.
- The analysis showed that products that previously had zero tariff on them saw exports to the US plunge 47% from $3.4 billion in May to $1.8 billion in September. Here, smartphones and pharmaceuticals were the biggest casualties.
- Among other sectors, industrial metals and auto parts, which are subject to uniform duty across the world, have experienced a milder shock. Aluminium exports dropped 37%, copper 25%, auto parts 12%, and iron and steel 8%.
- Textiles, gems and jewellery, chemicals, agri-foods, and machinery tanked 33%, from $4.8 billion in May to $3.2 billion in September.
- Chemical, marine and seafood, textiles, agri and processed foods also declined, the analysis found.
Article source: livemint.com
