Later in the evening, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued a statement saying the government is studying the implications of the US President’s statement.”India and the US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement over the last few months. We remain committed to that objective,” it said.”The Government attaches the utmost importance to protecting and promoting the welfare of our farmers, entrepreneurs, and MSMEs,” it said.”The Government will take all steps necessary to secure our national interest, as has been the case with other trade agreements including the latest Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the UK,” it added.Trump’s reference to India’s purchase of Russian oil comes against the backdrop of the Russian Sanctions Act, 2025, which has been introduced in the US Senate and House of Representatives. It proposes to impose 500% duties on countries that buy oil or other petroleum products from Russia.India and the US had held the fifth round of talks last week in Washington but failed to reach an agreement.During a media interaction on Tuesday, Trump had hinted that the US was preparing to impose a higher tariff on India. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on his way back to Washington from Scotland, he was asked if the deal with India had been finalised.”No, it’s not,” Trump had replied. The US has reached trade agreements with the UK, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Japan and the European Union recently. The US also came to a preliminary agreement with China that reduced the tit-for-tat tariffs imposed on each other.For its part, India signed a free trade agreement with the UK during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to the country last week.The US had previously announced a 26 percent reciprocal tariff against India in April, which was suspended as bilateral talks got underway. Indian exporters are now set to take a hit as Trump’s announcement marks a steep increase from the 10 percent baseline tariff on Indian shipments to the US.
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