President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is not considering reducing tariffs on India, just a week after his administration doubled levies on the country’s exports to 50% in response to New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil.
Asked by a reporter at a White House event whether he might roll back the duties, Trump replied simply, “no.”
“We get along with India very well,” Trump said, while criticizing what he called an imbalanced trade relationship due to New Delhi’s historically high import duties. “India has, you have to understand, for many years, it was a one-sided relationship. India was charging us tremendous tariffs, about the highest in the world.”
The move to double tariffs stunned officials in New Delhi, coming after months of negotiations between U.S. and Indian trade teams. The new 50% duties affect more than half of India’s exports to the U.S., its largest trading partner.
Washington has expressed growing frustration over India’s continued purchases of Russian energy, which New Delhi defends as necessary to maintain affordable oil supplies. Critics argue that such imports by India and China help sustain Russia’s economy despite Western sanctions aimed at curbing Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
On Monday, Trump suggested in a social media post that India had “offered to cut its tariffs to nothing,” though he did not specify when the offer was made or whether his administration intends to reopen trade talks. “It’s getting late. They should have done so years ago,” he added.
The president also said he is closely watching efforts to arrange a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, signaling he may consider further measures against countries that undermine sanctions if peace efforts fail to progress.
