US Publishes Notice as Trump’s 50% Tariff Deadline on India Nears

The United States on Monday published a draft notice detailing plans to impose a 50% tariff on Indian products, confirming a measure President Donald Trump had announced earlier this month.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, the higher levies will apply to Indian goods “entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. EDT on August 27, 2025.” The tariffs are aimed at curbing India’s purchases of Russian oil as Washington seeks to pressure Moscow into peace talks over the war in Ukraine.

India has denounced the so-called secondary tariffs as unfair. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking in Ahmedabad on Monday, said his government would not compromise on the interests of farmers and small businesses. “The pressure on us may increase, but we will bear it all,” Modi said.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar also defended India’s energy policy, stressing that New Delhi would continue to act in line with its national interest and “strategic autonomy.” He said the issue was being wrongly framed as an “oil dispute,” noting that other major importers such as China and European nations had faced no similar criticism.

The move signals Washington’s intent to press ahead with heightened tariffs even as efforts to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal remain stalled