By Yasin Gungor
ISTANBUL (AA) - US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that India will face a 25% tariff, plus additional penalties, starting from Aug. 1.
Trump accused New Delhi of unfair trade practices and extensive energy and arms relations with Russia, saying on Truth Social: "INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST."
Without revealing specifics on the "penalty," Trump criticized India's trade barriers and Russia connections. "India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World."
He described India as having "the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country" while highlighting America's trade deficit with the South Asian nation.
"They have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE," Trump added.
In a separate post, Trump doubled down on the timeline for "reciprocal" US tariffs on countries around the world.
“THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE IS THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE ... IT STANDS STRONG, AND WILL NOT BE EXTENDED,” he stressed.
Trump called the deadline "A BIG DAY FOR AMERICA."