Trump's 50% tariffs on India over Russian oil purchases take effect
NEW DELHI (AP) — Steep U.S. tariffs on a range of Indian products took effect Wednesday, threatening a serious blow to India’s overseas trade in its largest export market.
President Donald Trump had initially announced a 25% tariff on Indian goods. But earlier this month he signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff due to India’s purchases of Russian oil, bringing the combined tariffs imposed by the U.S. on its ally to 50%.
The Indian government estimates the tariffs will impact $48.2 billion worth of exports. Officials have warned the new duties could make shipments to the U.S. commercially unviable, triggering job losses and slower economic growth.
India–U.S. trade relations have expanded in recent years but remain vulnerable to disputes over market access and domestic political pressures. India is one of the fastest-growing major global economies and it may face a slowdown as a result.
https://apnews.com/article/india-us-tariff-exports-trade-tension-48ac6d5e172df04832c75d2a57d0a860
= new reply since forum marked as read
India and the U.S. have held five rounds of negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement, but have yet to reach a deal. That’s largely because New Delhi has resisted opening these sectors to cheaper American imports, citing concerns that doing so would endanger the jobs of millions of Indians.
I have to say find it a little surprising that US products from either of those sectors can be brought all the way over to India and still be 'cheaper' than the same items being produced in India. I could see the US having some products that nobody produces in India, however, and maybe some of them could prove more popular than what they do have available and/or be of higher quality. Thinking that's probably the real concern.
Even I have to admit there is a certain unfairness about other countries refusing to open their markets to US products if we're not doing the same back to them.
Of course, IQ47's motivation is really only the exercise of power, not any genuine concern for the jobs of US workers.
I would assume that part of the reason they're leveling the tariffs on these particular grounds would be exactly that. They just don't want to say that part out loud because it's pretty damn thuggish (and possibly against international law?)
However I would think that oil from the Middle East would be less expensive as it's less than 1/2 the distance away from India. And that's from Long Beach, not from Texas or SD. Those are probably close to 3X the distance.
President Trump’s repeated claims about having “solved” the India-Pakistan war infuriated Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India. And that was only the beginning.
Link to tweet
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/30/us/politics/trump-modi-india.html?unlocked_article_code=1.iE8.ZUkL.sALtHdC3aNm1&smid=url-share
Mr. Trump had been saying — repeatedly, publicly, exuberantly — that he had “solved” the military conflict between India and Pakistan, a dispute that dates back more than 75 years and is far deeper and more complicated than Mr. Trump was making it out to be.
During a phone call on June 17, Mr. Trump brought it up again, saying how proud he was of ending the military escalation. He mentioned that Pakistan was going to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize, an honor for which he had been openly campaigning. The not-so-subtle implication, according to people familiar with the call, was that Mr. Modi should do the same.
The Indian leader bristled. He told Mr. Trump that U.S. involvement had nothing to do with the recent cease-fire. It had been settled directly between India and Pakistan.....
Just weeks after the June phone call, and with trade talks dragging on, Mr. Trump startled India by announcing that imports from the country would be subjected to a tariff of 25 percent. And on Wednesday, he slapped India with an additional 25 percent tariff for buying Russian oil, adding up to a crushing 50 percent.
Mr. Modi, who once called Mr. Trump “a true friend,” was officially on the outs. After telling Mr. Modi that he would travel to India later this year for the Quad summit, Mr. Trump no longer has plans to visit in the fall, according to people familiar with the president’s schedule......
“I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for this, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the War between India and Pakistan,” Mr. Trump posted. “No, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do.”
trump's desire for a Nobel Peace Prize is sad and has hurt our relations with India. Modi is attending a conference in China right