Washington, Jul 30: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that the US will impose a 25 per cent tariffs, with penalty, on Indian imports starting August 1.

The announcement was made on Truth Social, his own social media platform. Trump said the decision also comes with a penalty on India for buying military equipment and energy from Russia.

He claimed that India’s tariffs are among the highest in the world and that the country also has "the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers" compared to any other nation.

"Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are far too high," Trump said.

He also mentioned that the US has a massive trade deficit with India.

The announcement follows months of talks between the two countries, but a mini or interim trade deal has remained out of reach.

The US President also criticised India’s continued purchases of Russian weapons and energy, especially during the ongoing war in Ukraine.

He said India has always bought the majority of its military supplies from Russia and is one of the largest buyers of Russian energy, along with China.

"At a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine, these things are not good," Trump added.

"ALL THINGS NOT GOOD! INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. MAGA!" he wrote.

Last week, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said trade talks with the US are progressing well. Her comment came ahead of Trump's country-specific tariffs scheduled to take effect from August 1.

India last signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with the UK. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal hailed the India-UK free FTA called it as a 'game-changing' deal that provides immense opportunities and benefits to farmers, businessmen, MSME sectors, young professionals and fishermen.

(IANS)

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