Trump announced that India and the US agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will charge a reduced reciprocal tariff on Delhi, lowering it from 25 per cent to 18 per cent.
President Trump claims American tariffs imposed on India for purchasing Russian oil have negatively impacted Russia's economy, referring to India as Russia's major oil buyer. He also mentioned plans to meet with Putin and Zelenskyy, and claimed to have solved several wars, including the conflict between India and Pakistan.
Former White House trade advisor Peter Navarro accuses India of being an 'oil money laundromat' for Russia, alleging that India's oil purchases are funding Putin's war in Ukraine. The accusations come amid existing trade tensions and tariffs imposed by the US.
The turning point came with the appointment of Sergio Gor as the US ambassador to India.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India's energy decisions are guided by national interest.
Bolton slammed Trump's tariff policy, asserting that it has "shredded" decades of Western efforts to align India away from its Cold War ties with the then Soviet Union (Russia) and address the growing threat from China.
Trump also praised Chinese President as "a great leader of a great country" and said the two sides had "already agreed to a lot of things."
'Everybody in America loses because of what India is doing.'
'Incidentally, Prime Minister (Modi) and President Trump have also spoken on the phone on eight occasions during 2025, covering different aspects of our wide-ranging partnership'
The comments come ahead of Trump's high-profile meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, scheduled for Friday in Anchorage, Alaska.
The US has temporarily permitted India to accept Russian oil already on ships to ensure energy supplies amid the conflict with Iran. This short-term measure is not expected to significantly benefit Russia financially.
US President Donald Trump has announced a 25 per cent plus tariff on India from Aug 1. Trump, describing India as a "friend", said the US has done relatively "little business" with the country because of its high tariffs.
The move by the US President came following a retaliatory move by China, where it increased its tariff on US goods from 34 per cent to 84 per cent starting April 10.
China's latest defence budget surges to $275 billion, fueling its ambitious military modernisation program and intensifying geopolitical dynamics in the region.
'No retaliatory tariffs now. You can retaliate after a few months.' 'Today, there is no need to retaliate because it is a question of long term benefits.'
Trump's remarks came amid heightened US messaging about the Iran situation and a series of White House statements indicating that multiple options remain under review.
India should resist knee-jerk responses to tariff volatility in the US and instead use the current geopolitical churn to build manufacturing scale at home, former G20 Sherpa and former chief executive officer of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant said on Wednesday.
Greer said that India has taken down some digital services taxes and is moving tariffs down.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that long-term oil supplies are 'abundant' and there are no worries regarding that, but in the short term, there is a need to get oil on the market.
United States President Donald Trump has imposed a 10% tariff on most US imports, with even higher rates for China (34%), India (26%), Japan (24%) and the EU (20%), escalating a global trade war.
"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," Trump said in a social media post on Monday.
Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton says President Trump's personal relationship with Prime Minister Modi has deteriorated, potentially pushing India closer to Russia and China.
United States President Donald Trump said he could travel to India next year, emphasising that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi 'wants' him to visit while calling him a 'great man' and a friend.
Trump on February 1 had announced tariffs on major US trading partners Canada, Mexico and China. He imposed a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian and Mexican imports and a 10 per cent on goods from China.
United States President Donald Trump has said the trade deal with India is not finalised, as he stressed that India imposes more tariffs than almost any other country.
The trade relationship between India and the United States has been strained by the imposition of 25% tariff by the US on Indian goods.
A bewildered world is at a loss to find bilateral and multilateral measures to stop President Trump from pursuing his vision of a world unabashedly dominated by the United States, points out T P Sreenivasan.
Pakistan and China are among the countries which are testing nuclear weapons, United States President Donald Trump has said to justify his administration's plans to resume testing of the US's own nuclear assets after a gap of over three decades.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he "helped settle" the tensions between India and Pakistan and that he told the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours that America would do a "lot of trade" with them if they stopped the conflict.
Rahul Gandhi said that had an INDIA Bloc government negotiated the trade agreement with the US, it would have told US President Donald Trump that he should treat India as an equal.
Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a "full and immediate" ceasefire after a "long night" of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim on several occasions.
'Trump had done a deal with the current regime minus Maduro. The current regime is giving Trump entry into Venezuelan oil. They are obeying him and doing whatever he says.' 'They are happy because they have saved their heads by sacrificing only two, Maduro and his wife. Thousands of Venezuelan military leaders would have been jailed or killed in American action had Maduro stayed in power.'
The way to deal with a bully is to resist bullying, because submission in the first instance only invites even more overbearing demands in future. What may seem like a small price to pay now will lead to a much higher price later, warns former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
'I certainly hope the two can avoid a trade war and believe they will.' 'I expect some in India will push for retaliatory tariffs if the Trump administration applies significant reciprocal tariffs.'
By threatening to punish India with high tariff, Trump is actually planting a tantalising thought in the Indian mind that the Modi government should suitably 'incentivise' him, explains Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In the wake of the FTA between India and the European Union, the United States has described the Europeans as 'very disappointing', saying they were unwilling to join Washington, DC in putting tariffs on New Delhi for its purchases of Russian oil because of this trade deal.
'What India has done will surely embolden more countries to stand up to Trump.'
The statement did not name any country. But the US has often blamed India and China for purchasing Russian oil even when there are no tariffs on Beijing for it.
'Geopolitically and diplomatically it's a very difficult situation for India.'
'After the Galwan clash, the rules of engagement changed with the army commanders allowed to use any means at their disposal as they deem fit for tactical operations.'
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