Trump Administration Notice Signals 50% Tariff To Hit India Soon

The Trump Administration outlined plans to implement a 50% tariff on products from India in a draft notice published Monday, the latest signal that the White House plans to push ahead with the heightened levies as efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine appear to be stalling.

The notice posted by the Department of Homeland Security said that the increased levies would hit Indian products “that are entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on August 27, 2025.”

US President Donald Trump announced plans earlier this month to double tariffs on Indian goods from 25% to 50% over its purchases of Russian oil, in hopes of pressuring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table to end the war against Ukraine. The Indian government has decried the so-called secondary tariffs as unfair, while holding out hope that a breakthrough in the peace talks could remove the need for the levies.

Trump subsequently met with Putin in Alaska and then with European leaders, including Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy, at the White House. But his effort to arrange a face-to-face between Putin and Zelenskiy has so far failed to yield results.

Earlier Monday, Trump said the meeting hadn’t yet been scheduled because of Putin’s animosity toward Zelenskiy. He later said he wasn’t sure such a meeting would ever happen.

“That’s going to be up to them. It takes two to tango, I always say, and they should meet,” Trump said. 

Trump also indicated that he could impose additional tariffs on Russian trading partners or sanctions targeting Moscow if there was no progress on a deal, saying there could be “very big consequences” if nothing happened in the coming weeks. The US has so far refrained from slapping similar sanctions on other major buyers of Russian oil, most notably China. 

In recent days, Putin has spoken with India’s Narendra Modi, who has prioritized outreach to Russia and China amid Trump’s tariff threats. India has said it plans to continue buying Russian oil despite the US tariffs.

© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.