Financial Union, August 26,Trump isThe administration outlined plans to impose a 50 percent tariff on Indian products in a draft announcement released on Monday, the latest signal that the White House plans to move forward with higher tariffs.

The United States is about to impose a 50% tariff on Indian products, pictured here is Trump (data map)

A notice issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated that the increased tariffs will target Indian products that "enter the consumer market or are extracted from warehouses on or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on August 27, 2025." U.S. President Trump announced earlier this month that he plans to double tariffs on Indian purchases of Russian oil from 25% to 50%. The Indian government condemns the unfairness of so-called secondary tariffs, while hoping for a breakthrough in peace talks to eliminate the need for tariffs.

Further reading

Indian Foreign Minister: Trade negotiations are still ongoing, we have some clear "red lines"

On August 23, local time, Indian Foreign Minister Sujarsen once again responded with tough words to the United States 'imposition of tariffs on Indian goods at a forum organized by India's Economic Times, saying that trade negotiations between India and the United States are still continuing, but there are clear "red lines" in the negotiations, and India will always make decisions based on national interests.

¡°Negotiations are still ongoing, but most importantly, we have some red lines,¡± Sujetin stressed, adding that the interests of farmers and small producers are the bottom line of the Indo-American negotiations, ¡°we are committed to defending the interests of our farmers and small producers, and we are very firm about it, which is not something we can compromise.¡±

The Economic Times said that Jaishankar's remarks demonstrate India's determination to safeguard its domestic interests while engaging with global partners.

Reuters pointed out that earlier this year, India-US trade talks broke down because India did not agree to open up its huge agricultural and dairy markets. Tensions between the two countries intensified after the United States announced additional tariffs of up to 50% on Indian goods citing Russian oil purchases.

25 percent of the 50 percent tariffs imposed by the United States on India have already come into effect, with the rest expected to be implemented on August 27. Capital Economics analysts warned on August 22 that if tariffs are fully implemented, India¡¯s economic growth rate will drop by 0.8 percentage points this year and next, respectively, ¡°the long-term harm may be greater because high tariffs could weaken India¡¯s attractiveness as a global new manufacturing center.¡±

However, the plan of the U.S. trade negotiation delegation to visit India from 25th to 29th has also been cancelled, and the prospect of negotiations has suddenly dimmed. The hope of the U.S. lowering or postponing the imposition of tariffs on India has become increasingly slim.

To the U.S. criticism of India's purchase of Russian oil and the re-sale of finished goods for profit, Sujetin said on his visit to Russia on 20-21 that the U.S. imposed an additional 25% tariff on India was "very confusing" because it was initially "the Americans who let India do everything to stabilize the global energy market, such as buying Russian oil."

Image by India¡¯s Foreign Minister Sujetin (video)

On the 23rd, Jaishankar once again criticized the tariff as "unfair and unreasonable", saying that it was wrongly "packaged as an oil issue" because the same argument was not used in Europe, the largest importer of Russia's liquefied natural gas.

He pointed out that the West's position on this issue is "inconsistent". In terms of trade scale, the trade scale between Russia and Europe far exceeds that between India and Russia. "Some people say that we are providing funds for the Russia-Ukraine conflict... The trade scale between Russia and Europe is larger, isn't it Europe? Invest more?"

Jaishankar also sarcastically said: "It's interesting that a U.S. government that claims to be pro-business accuses others of doing business. If you think there is something wrong with buying our oil or refined oil, then don't buy it. No one forces you to buy it. But Europe buys it, and the United States buys it. So if you don't like it, don't buy it from us."

Speaking about India-Pakistan relations, Sujetin reiterated India¡¯s position, ¡°Since the 1970s, there has been a consensus within India for more than 50 years: we do not accept any mediation in India-Pakistan relations.¡±

Su Jiesheng emphasized,"Whether it is trade, farmers 'interests, or our strategic autonomy and opposition mediation, the Indian government's attitude is very clear. If anyone disagrees, please tell the Indian people: You are not prepared to defend the interests of farmers, and you do not value strategic autonomy. But we will maintain it and take every measure to ensure it."

Following the outbreak of the conflict in India and Pakistan in May this year, Trump announced that under U.S. mediation, India and Pakistan had agreed to a ¡°comprehensive immediate ceasefire.¡± While Pakistan thanked Trump for helping to end the conflict, India only acknowledged that the U.S. played a role in mediation, insisting that India itself ended the conflict by negotiating directly with Pakistan.

"We have never seen a U.S. president conduct foreign affairs in such an open manner." Su Jiesheng said that whether he is dealing with foreign affairs or domestic affairs, Trump's way of doing things is different from the traditional model.

For the Indian-American bilateral relations and multilateral cooperation under Trump's rule, Sujetin stressed that India will not be forced to make a second choice between different groups, but to adapt to the nature of the environment and challenges, "if a relationship requires a different treatment, it should be adjusted accordingly", "Quarter-Party Security Dialogue" (QUAD) is "Quarter-Party Security Dialogue", BRICS countries are BRICS countries, "nations like us, should not be forced to make a dual choice."

Sujetin visited Russia on 20-21 and met with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov on topics such as bilateral trade, economic cooperation and international affairs.

Image for Foreign Media Reporting

In the past few decades, the Indian economy has been most affected by two factors: the first is the season, if the season rains are not normal, agriculture is inadequate, domestic inflation is inevitable in India; the second is energy oil, international oil prices rise, domestic prices rise, the economy will be severely affected.

Liu Shui pointed out that the last few years the Indians have boasted of the good economy of their country, but in fact, India's higher economic growth rate in 2021 and 2022 is because of the epidemic rebound, coupled with cheap oil trade with Russia, and the Modi government's deficit finance way of large investments in infrastructure construction, has made the economic data of the years more bright.

Therefore, in this situation, Liu Zongyi believes that it is difficult for the Modi government to make concessions to the United States on both agricultural and energy issues, and it is unwilling to fully compromise.