Amid tariff dispute, Trump guidelines out additional commerce talks: A timeline of souring India-US ties

United States President Donald Trump is understood to drop bombshells and he did it once more on Thursday (August 7) when he stated that there will probably be no commerce negotiations with India till a dispute over tariffs is resolved.

The announcement comes after the US president signed an government order imposing an extra 25 per cent tariffs on India for its continued buy of Russian oil. With this, India now faces a mixed levy of fifty per cent — making it among the many
most closely taxed US buying and selling accomplice in Asia and putting it alongside Brazil, one other nation going through steep US tariffs amid tense relations.

What does Trump’s newest announcement imply? How did we attain right here? And what does this imply for India-US commerce ties? We study and get you the solutions.

No commerce negotiations, says Trump

On Thursday, Trump talking from the Oval Workplace within the White Home dominated out the opportunity of
commerce negotiations with India except the problem of tariffs is resolved.

When requested by a information reporter if he anticipated commerce negotiation to extend with India after the 50 per cent tariffs, Trump shrugged his shoulders and replied, “No, not till we get it resolved.”

#WATCH | Responding to ANI’s query, ‘Simply to observe up India’s tariff, do you anticipate elevated commerce negotiations since you have got introduced the 50% tariffs?’, US President Donald Trump says, “No, not till we get it resolved.”

(Supply: US Community Pool through Reuters) pic.twitter.com/exAQCiKSJd

— ANI (@ANI) August 7, 2025

The query by the reporter got here a day after Trump introduced the imposition of a 25 per cent extra tariff on India as punishment for getting
Russian crude. The chief order that he signed on the levy learn that India is “at present straight or not directly importing Russian Federation oil,” and says it’s “vital and acceptable” to use the brand new 25 per cent tariff on Indian items.

The brand new, Russia-related tariffs will take impact in 21 days, whereas the beforehand introduced 25 per cent tariff took impact on Thursday (August 7).

Trump’s Russian penalty on India didn’t come as an entire shocker — he had been threatening New Delhi with tariffs for the previous one week. Actually, he had written on social media, “India is just not solely shopping for huge quantities of Russian oil, they’re then, for a lot of the oil bought, promoting it on the open marketplace for massive income. They don’t care how many individuals in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian struggle machine.”

India defended its buy with the Ministry of Exterior Affairs issuing an announcement saying “We now have already made clear our place on these points, together with the truth that our imports are based mostly on market components and achieved with the general goal of guaranteeing the vitality safety of 1.4 billion folks of India.”

Furthermore,
Prime Minister Modi additionally reacted saying that India wouldn’t capitulate to outdoors strain. “For us, the curiosity of our farmers is our prime precedence,” he stated. “India won’t ever compromise on the pursuits of farmers, fishermen and dairy farmers. I do know we should pay a heavy value for it, and I’m prepared for it. India is prepared for it.”

However how did we get right here?

Trump’s announcement comes at the same time as India and the US attempt to sew collectively a commerce deal that was first agreed upon by
Trump and Modi when the latter visited the White Home in February.

Following that bilateral talks gained momentum; India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal visited Washington in March and met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Commerce Consultant Jamisen Greer. Later in March, US officers visited Delhi for talks.

In April, US Vice President JD Vance throughout his India go to stated each side had been making progress on commerce talks and it was reported that India and the US finalised the phrases of reference for the commerce negotiation, bringing them a step nearer to an settlement.

The most important breakthrough got here in June when Trump declared {that a} deal could also be shut. He was quoted as saying, “We’re having some nice offers. We now have one arising, possibly with India, a really massive one, the place we’re going to open up India.”

Nonetheless, since then the commerce talks have hit a tough patch. On July 4, in what seemed to be a hardening of stance by India, Piyush Goyal stated that India wouldn’t do commerce offers to satisfy deadlines and nationwide curiosity will probably be “supreme”.

His remarks got here just a little after the 2 delegations met for a fifth spherical of talks. Nonetheless, in response to sources, agriculture and
dairy merchandise had been the 2 massive gadgets that grew to become sticking factors between the 2 nations.

Then final week, Trump ramped up his offensive towards India, saying that he would impose a 25 per cent tariff on India, regardless of it being a “pal”. He additionally acknowledged that the US would impose a penalty on India for getting Russian oil.

What comes subsequent although?

India and the US had been to carry a sixth spherical of talks on August 25. However it’s not recognized if these discussions will happen after Trump’s massive bombshell.

In the meantime, NDTV stories that PM Modi is about to chair a vital high-level Cupboard assembly at this time to evaluate the impression of the steep tariff hike just lately imposed by the US on Indian exports.

Furthermore, the Indian information web site quoting sources reported that main US retailers akin to Walmart, Amazon and Goal have halted orders from India with exporters receiving letters and emails from US consumers requesting that they pause attire and textile shipments till additional discover.

Whereas it’s unsure what comes subsequent in relation to commerce, most analysts be aware that this marks a brand new low within the US-India relations. As Vina Nadjibulla, vp of technique and analysis on the Asia Pacific Basis of Canada, advised Al Jazeera, “It is a very tough second, arguably the worst in lots of, a few years of their relationship and places India in a really small group of nations that discover themselves and not using a deal and with the best tariff charges. They now want some pragmatic path ahead and have to discover a option to rebuild belief.”

Even some American leaders akin to senior US Congressman Gregory Meeks have stated that the US president’s actions endanger ties with the US.

With inputs from businesses