Decoding Trump’s Additional Tariffs on India: Reasons, Russia, and U.S. Double Standards
- Hindu College Gazette Web Team
- 3 days ago
- 10 min read
On 7th August, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the imposition of an additional 25% tariff on a wide range of Indian exports, including textile, footwear, and gems and jewellery, bringing the total duties to 50%. This was framed as a punitive measure against India’s alleged funding of Russian war machine through its discounted Russian Oil purchases. This was preceded by the failed India-US trade talks in late July, followed by an earlier tariff round on 31st July. This article examines whether Trump’s justifications hold up, and explores the real reasons behind this move.
Unpacking Trump’s Justifications
“India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits. They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine.”
“Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA.”
This is what President Trump said via a Truth Social post of August as reported by Reuters. Now looking at this, along with India being the only receiver of this so-called punishment, one might mistakenly assume that India is either the only country trading with Russia or its largest buyer. Let us examine whether it is true or not.
The Top Importers, China and EU
Let us begin with crude oil imports. China bought 47% of Russia’s crude oil and is the biggest importer. It is followed by India (38%), The EU (6%), and Türkiye (6%).
Aside from this, between 5 December 2022 and 31 May 2025, 44% of Russia’s coal was imported by China, followed by India (19%), Türkiye (11%), South Korea (9%), and Taiwan (4%). Türkiye was the largest importer of Russian oil products purchasing 26%, followed by China (13%), and Brazil (12%). In terms of LNG, EU was the largest buyer (50%), followed by China (21%), and Japan (18%). EU was also the largest buyer of Russi
a’s pipeline gas (37%), China (30%), and Türkiye (27%).
Looking at this data, it is clear that either China or The EU tops the chart in all instances, but have they received additional tariffs? The simple answer is no. India’s the only country that has received additional tariffs even though the data depicts the contrary.
U.S. Hypocrisy
Unsurprisingly, the country that has accused India, also trades with Russia. In the year 2024, Russian imports to the U.S. were at $3,007.3 million and the exports were at $528.3 million.
U.S. imported fertilisers worth $1.30 billion. Pearls, precious stones, metals and coins were valued at $878.10 million and inorganic chemicals, precious metal compounds and isotopes at $695.72 million. Wood and articles of wood along with wood charcoal made up $89.44 million followed by machinery, nuclear reactors and boilers ($80.82 million).
On 15 August this year, when India was celebrating its 79th Independence Day, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for a bilateral meeting at Alaska, the first time President Putin met with a western leader after the beginning of the war. During the joint press conference after the meeting, President Putin revealed that during the last few months since the new regime came to power, U.S. Russia bilateral trade had increased by over 20%!
Dr. Jaishankar’s Reply
From all the facts we have observed above, it is evident that, (I) India is not the only country trading with Russia, and (II) It isn’t even the largest importer. Additionally, U.S., while threatening India to stay away from Russian oil despite the obvious repercussions such a move would have, is itself quietly increasing its trade with Moscow. It isn’t even levying any similar punitive tariffs on China, EU and the other nations which are still trading with Russia. If this isn’t the height of hypocrisy then what is? Let us also not forget that it was the U.S. which in 2022 encouraged and supported India to buy Russian oil so as to stabilise the oil prices.
External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, I believe, gave a befitting reply regarding this during the Economic Times World Leaders Forum 2025.
"It's funny to have people who work for a pro-business American administration accusing other people of doing business. If you have a problem buying oil or refined products from India, don't buy it. Nobody forces you to buy it. Europe buys, America buys, so you don't like it, don't buy it,” he said, responding to criticism of India’s purchases of Russian crude.
Emphasizing America’s role in the oil trade, he noted, “In 2022, there was deep nervousness on the international level due to oil prices going up. That time, it was said that if India wants to buy Russian oil, let them, because that would stabilise prices.”
Finally, he emphasized on India’s role in the stabilisation of oil prices. “We are buying oil to stabilise the oil prices. Yes, it is in our national interest but it is also in a global interest.”
The Reason: Trump’s Grievances
It is quite evident, from the facts we witnessed above, that Russian Funding is merely the convenient garb, hiding behind which the tariffs are being used as a cudgel by Trump. This is further supported by America’s continuing imports of gasoline (sourced from Russian fuel) from India which have been exempted from the tariffs. But why? What has India done to provoke such stringent actions by Trump? For the answers to these questions, we merely need to observe some events that have happened in the preceding months; starting from May 10th.
The Three Events
I caused the Ceasefire!
Since India reached a ceasefire with Pakistan on the latter’s request, President Trump has been adamant in claiming the cre
dit for the same. He insists that he warned both countries that if they don’t stop the war, then the U.S. will not trade with them. According to him, India and Pakistan wanted to continue trading with the U.S. and hence they stopped the war. Here’s what he said in one of his public remarks.
"...We stopped a lot of fights, very, very big one was India and Pakistan. We stopped that over trade. We are dealing with India and Pakistan. We said that we are not going to be dealing with you at all if you are gonna fight. They were maybe at a nuclear stage...Stopping that was really important..."
India has categorically denied any mediation by any third country. It has stood firmly on the stance that the ceasefire was reached at Pakistan’s request and negotiated between the military leaders of both the countries. This was what had been said during the Press briefing by the DGMOs after the ceasefire had been hammered out, during PM Sri Narendra Modi’s address to the nation, and subsequently during all the occasions this topic has come up, including the 17-18 June 35-minute call between our PM and the U.S. President.
Although New Delhi has refused to give Trump’s narrative any endorsement, he continues to persist by always referring to his role in the ceasefire agreement whenever he gets the chance, whether in an interview or a public briefing. If no interview/public briefing is imminent on a day, you may just find this reference in one of his tweets. Estimates suggest that since May 10, he has repeated his claim more than 40 times! Unfortunately for this great friend of India, no matter how many times he repeats the same lie, it doesn’t become the truth. It is the time of social media after all! As a proof of this, you wouldn’t see any other country siding with Trump on this issue except for Pakistan, whose track record with truth was already evident during Operation Sindoor.
Where’s My Nobel Prize?
While Trump was consistently trying to portray himself as some sort of a peacemaker, simultaneously, some other developments were occurring. On 21 June, Pakistan decided to formally recommend Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. This was followed by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who handed Trump the letter he had sent to the Nobel committee during a bilateral meeting in the White House on 7 July. Cambodia also nominated him, and Azerbaijan and Armenia made the same declaration jointly.
If you are thinking that this is a coincidence, then unfortunately you are wrong. Let me provide a statement given by the White House Press Secretary during the Press Briefing on 31 July:
“The President has now ended conflicts between Thailand and Cambodia, Israel and Iran, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India and Pakistan, Serbia and Kosovo, and Egypt and Ethiopia. This means President Trump has brokered, on average, about one peace deal or ceasefire per month during his six months in office. It is well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.”
Keeping aside the fact that Trump’s role in a few of the conflicts is questionable, this was the first time ever that the White House was campaigning for its own president, and that too a current one, to receive a Nobel prize. Given that the White House comes under the control of the U.S President, it wouldn’t be farfetched to assume that Trump is behind this demand and is using the White House for his own ambitions. Although, we must keep in mind that Trump’s ambitions for a Nobel Peace prize aren’t new and many attribute it to his political grudge with the former U.S. President Barack Obama. Some reports even suggest that he called up the Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg last month regarding his bid for the prize!
Coming back to the point, at the time this statement by the White House came out, India had given no indications of nominating Trump for the Nobel prize. When asked about it the next day, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “As far as the statements of the White House are concerned, please take your question to them.” This was a very polite dismissal and affirmation that India wouldn’t be nominating him.
The Deal That Wasn’t, and Courting of a Snake
Between March and July 2025, five rounds of trade negotiations took place between India and the U.S. Although initially Indian officials were highly confident that a deal beneficial for both the parties would be hammered out, by July, it was apparent that it wasn’t going to be as easy as it first seemed. India’s BRICS membership and import of Russian weapons was already an irritant for the U.S. administration, but now, not getting unrestricted access to the Indian Dairy market had also become another thorn in its side. There would have been some caveats if India would have bowed down to this demand by the U.S.
First of all, doing so would have been akin to a political suicide for the Indian government. In America, cows are fed animal based products such as blood and meat unlike in India. Strict vegetarians, including many devotees, consume dairy products in India; plus, they are also integral to religious rituals. Hence, it wouldn’t be culturally or religiously acceptable for India to allow such dairy products to be imported unless strict certification ensured the dairy products being imported do not come from cows that have been fed animal based products. The U.S. believed this to be an unnecessary trade barrier.
Secondly, the dairy sector in India feeds 1.4 billion people and employs over 80 million. Providing America unrestricted access would’ve been bad for both our farmers as well as the people who are employed in this sector. Just like America, we too cannot jeopardise the interests of our citizens just to grant them access to the world’s largest consumer market.
Eventually, the negotiations broke down and India faced the 25% tariffs on July 31. Interestingly, the U.S. in parallel signed a deal with Pakistan to develop their so-called oil reserves and suggested that one day India might even buy oil from Pakistan. Making this statement, despite being aware of Pakistan having sponsored terrorism in India for decades, including the latest Pahalgam attack, was nothing less than salting an already bleeding wound.
So, while continuously blaming India for supporting Russia, America is simultaneously signing deals with a terror-sponsoring country. It had even invited that nation’s hate-mongering bigotted Field Marshal, for a luncheon in June this year. Such actions reveal a striking double standard.
Connecting The Dots
Now after having had a look at the three events, let us now connect the dots, so to speak, and look at the complete picture. Trump has always had the desire to restore America’s greatness and make it as influential and a heavyweight as it once used to be. His entire MAGA camp is based around this issue; MAGA itself is an acronym for ‘Make America Great Again’. So, what could hurt such a person? The answer, someone—most likely a rising power—challenging him and the diktats of his country. This is exactly what India did.
First, it gave no reaction to his persistent claims of being the peacemaker directly, simply clarified the truth whenever the question arose in official contexts.
Second, unlike some other heads of state, who either recommended or nominated Trump for the Nobel Prize, most likely to gain America’s favour, India did no such thing and even when the question was asked, it was politely dismissed.
Finally, India put its national interest first. It did not scramble to sign a trade deal with America even under the fear of getting bombarded by tariffs.
While Trump is hoping for a reflexive action from India, it has continued to stay calm. Let's examine the key points raised by the MEA spokesperson in response to the additional tariffs.
Our imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India,
America’s actions are unfortunate on account of other countries doing the same.
Reiterated that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable, and,
India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests.
No grandstanding here —just a simple, clear and calm statement. And the American establishment’s response? Trump calling India a dead economy, his adviser Peter Navarro calling Indians arrogant and India a laundromat for the Kremlin, and other similar jabs by U.S. officials.
Conclusion
The ad valorem 25% tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump are not connected to any humanitarian crisis, despite what he and his administration want the world to believe. The U.S. continues to import gasoline from India, even under these tariffs. Meanwhile, no similar duties have been imposed on Russia’s largest buyers: China and the EU. Instead, America is aiming to use the tariffs to coerce India into following its own dictates and interfering in its dealings with other countries, in this case, Russia. Moreover, these tariffs also serve as a response—or rather, punishment, for India’s handling of Trump over the preceding three months. The inflammatory statements by many members of the American establishment in recent weeks underscore this argument.
By Vaibhav Bhandari
He is pursuing his undergraduation in B. A. Honours History from Hindu College. I am currently in my 3rd year. He has a keen interest in Geo-politics and International Affairs.
Phone Number: +91 92679 27007
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