U.S. President Donald Trump says he will ‘substantially’ raise tariffs on India over Russian oil purchases

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday (August 4, 2025) he will substantially raise tariffs on India over its purchases of Russian oil.

“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,” Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

“Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA.”

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He did not elaborate on what the tariff would be.

Mr. Trump last week said he would impose a 25% tariff on goods imported from India and added that the world’s fifth-largest economy would also face an unspecified penalty but gave no details.

Over the weekend, two Indian government sources told Reuters that India will keep purchasing oil from Russia despite U.S. Trump’s threats. The sources did not wish to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

On Sunday (August 3, 2025), a top aide to Mr. Trump accused India of effectively financing Russia’s war in Ukraine by purchasing oil from Moscow, after the U.S. leader escalated pressure on New Delhi to stop buying Russian oil.

“What he (Trump) said very clearly is that it is not acceptable for India to continue financing this war by purchasing the oil from Russia,” said Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff at the White House and one of Mr. Trump’s most influential aides.