Trump announces 25% US tariff on India 'for buying Russian weapons and energy'
In a message on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump accused India of enabling the war in Ukraine through its purchases from Russia.
'They have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia's largest buyer of energy along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine – all things not good!' Mr Trump wrote.
He also accused India of having the world's most 'strenuous and obnoxious' non-monetary trade barriers and said the penalty would start on Friday.
Mr Trump not specify what the additional penalty would be, but this week said he would place additional sanctions on Russia unless it complies with his demand to end the war in Ukraine.
The Indian embassy in Washington referred The National to a statement by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry that said New Delhi had "taken note" of Mr Trump's comments and was studying the implications.
"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," the statement read, adding that India would take "all steps necessary" to secure its national interest.
The Census Bureau reported that the US ran a $45.8 billion trade imbalance in goods with India last year, meaning it imported more than it exported.
India is the world's most populous country, with more than 1.4 billion inhabitants, and a possible geopolitical counterbalance to China.
India and Russia have close relations, and New Delhi has not supported western sanctions on Moscow.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Today
an hour ago
- Gulf Today
Filmmakers try to cash in on India-Pakistan battle
Indian filmmakers are locking up the rights to movie titles that can profit from the patriotism fanned by a four-day conflict with Pakistan, which killed more than 70 people. The nuclear-armed rivals exchanged artillery, drone and air strikes in May, after India blamed Pakistan for an armed attack on tourists in Kashmir. The fighting came to an end when US President Donald Trump announced a surprise ceasefire. Now, some Bollywood filmmakers see an opportunity to cash in on the battle. India tagged its military action against Pakistan 'Operation Sindoor', the Hindi word for vermilion, which married Hindu women wear on their foreheads. The name was seen as a symbol of Delhi's determination to avenge those widowed in the April 22 attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam, which sparked the hostilities. Film studios have registered a slew of titles evoking the operation, including: 'Mission Sindoor', 'Sindoor: The Revenge', 'The Pahalgam Terror', and 'Sindoor Operation'. 'It's a story which needs to be told,' said director Vivek Agnihotri. 'If it was Hollywood, they would have made 10 films on this subject. People want to know what happened behind the scenes,' he told reporters. Agnihotri struck box office success with his 2022 release, 'The Kashmir Files', based on the mass flight of Hindus from Kashmir in the 1990s. The ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party gave that film a glowing endorsement, despite accusations that it aimed to stir up hatred against a community. Since nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, some critics say Bollywood is increasingly promoting his government's ideology. Raja Sen, a film critic and screenwriter, said filmmakers felt emboldened by an amenable government. 'We tried to wage a war and then we quietened down when Mr Trump asked us to. So what is the valour here?' Sen told AFP of the Pakistan clashes. Anil Sharma, known for directing rabble-rousing movies, criticised the apparent rush to make films related to the Pahalgam attack. 'This is herd mentality... these are seasonal filmmakers, they have their constraints,' he said. 'I don't wait for an incident to happen and then make a film based on that. A subject should evoke feelings and only then cinema happens,' said Sharma. Sharma's historical action flick 'Gadar: Ek Prem Katha' (2001) and its sequel 'Gadar 2' (2023), both featuring Sunny Deol in lead roles, were big hits. In Bollywood, filmmakers often seek to time releases for national holidays like Independence Day, which are associated with heightened patriotic fervour. 'Fighter', featuring big stars Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone, was released on the eve of India's Republic Day on January 25 last year. Though not a factual retelling, it drew heavily from India's 2019 airstrike on Pakistan's Balakot. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews but raked in $28 million in India, making it the fourth highest-grossing Hindi film of that year. This year, 'Chhaava', a drama based on the life of Sambhaji Maharaj, a ruler of the Maratha Empire, became the highest-grossing film so far this year. It also generated significant criticism for fuelling anti-Muslim bias. 'This is at a time when cinema is aggressively painting some kings and leaders in violent light,' said Sen. 'This is where those who are telling the stories need to be responsible about which stories they choose to tell.' Sen said filmmakers were reluctant to choose topics that are 'against the establishment.' 'If the public is flooded with dozens of films that are all trying to serve an agenda, without the other side allowed to make itself heard, then that propaganda and misinformation enters the public psyche,' he said. Acclaimed director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra said true patriotism is promoting peace and harmony through the medium of cinema. Mehra's socio-political drama 'Rang De Basanti' (2006) won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film and was chosen as India's official entry for the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. 'How we can arrive at peace and build a better society? How we can learn to love our neighbours?' he asked. Agence France-Presse
Gulf Today
an hour ago
- Gulf Today
eToro continues journey towards a tokenized future with launch of 24/5 trading, futures and tokenized stocks
eToro Group Ltd. ('eToro', or the 'Company') (NASDAQ: ETOR), the trading and investing platform, revealed today in a global webinar 'eToro Unlocked: Trade Without Boundaries' how the company is evolving its product offering as it moves towards a tokenized future. eToro Co-founder and CEO, Yoni Assia said: 'We've been long-term believers in a tokenized future. Blockchain technology will facilitate the greatest ever transfer of wealth, as traditional assets are tokenized and moved onto the blockchain. Hurdles remain, namely vested interests, however, we are witnessing key milestones on that journey. New regulations, such as MiCA in Europe and the passing of the Genius Act in the US, makes the tokenization of real world assets a new opportunity to create digital assets that are legally backed and regulated. The benefits of tokenization, in particular 24/7 transferability, have been clearly demonstrated by stable coins and these opportunities are now expanding to more asset classes.' In today's webinar, eToro revealed that it will be expanding its current 24/5 trading offering to include an initial list of 100 of the most popular US-listed stocks and ETFs that will be available to trade 24/5 as the underlying asset. eToro has also expanded its futures offering as one of the first platforms to offer spot-quoted futures . Brought to market in collaboration with CME Group, spot-quoted futures offer the benefits of futures trading via accessible-sized contracts with familiar spot-based pricing and longer-dated expiries. These innovative futures contracts provide users with greater flexibility to trade stock and crypto markets, all within the seamless experience of the eToro platform. Currently live in select European markets, eToro plans to offer these contracts to a growing proportion of its global userbase providing them with the tools they need for every stage of their investing journey. 'We want to offer our global user base the flexibility to trade on their time-frame. 24/5 trading whether through US equities or spot-quoted futures empowers users to trade in real-time in response to market events or simply when it's convenient to them. We will continue to expand this offering to put our users in control of when they trade.' said Yoni Assia . Since CEO Yoni Assia co-authored the Colored Coins whitepaper in 2012, eToro has been actively involved in tokenization. In 2019, following the acquisition of Danish token startup Firmo, eToro launched tokenized gold (GOLDX) and silver (SLVX) alongside a number of fiat currencies. Building on this heritage, eToro today announced the forthcoming launch of US-listed equities as ERC20 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. Commenting on the announcement, Yoni Assia said: 'Our mission has always been to open the global markets. Extended hours trading was the first step, 24/5 takes it a step further, however tokenization brings 24/7 accessibility. Tokenization removes boundaries, providing transparency and control. It has the potential to democratize finance, making assets more accessible to more people. 'We began our tokenization journey in 2019 and we're excited to now be able to significantly progress that initiative. Our goal is to tokenize every asset on eToro – starting with stocks – enabling our users to move tokenized assets onto the blockchain and from there integrate them into the broader DEFI ecosystem. Users will then be able to redeem tokenized stocks for the underlying position on eToro and vice versa.' You can find out more about today's announcements at eToro Unlocked . For the latest on eToro, including an announcement coming on August 7th, follow us @eToro .
Al Etihad
6 hours ago
- Al Etihad
US trade advisor says Trump tariff rates unlikely to change
3 Aug 2025 20:22 WASHINGTON (AFP) New US tariff rates are "pretty much set" with little immediate room for negotiation, Donald Trump's trade advisor said in remarks aired who has wielded tariffs as a tool of American economic might, has set tariff rates for dozens of economies, including the European Union, at between 10 and 41 percent, come August 7, his new hard deadline for the a pre-taped interview broadcast Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation," US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said "the coming days" are not likely to see changes in the tariff rates."A lot of these are set rates pursuant to deals. Some of these deals are announced, some are not, others depend on the level of the trade deficit or surplus we may have with the country," Greer said."These tariff rates are pretty much set."Undoubtedly, some trade ministers "want to talk more and see how they can work in a different way with the United States," he "we're seeing truly the contours of the president's tariff plan right now with these rates."Last Thursday, the former real estate developer announced hiked tariff rates on dozens of US trade will kick in on August 7 instead of August 1, which had previously been touted as a hard deadline. Meanwhile, White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett said that while talks are expected to continue over the next week with some US trade partners, he concurred with Greer's tariffs assessment in that the bulk of the rates "are more or less locked in."
