‘Focused On India’s Interest’, Piyush Goyal Tells Parliament On Trump’s Tariff Setback

Last Updated:July 31, 2025, 16:09 IST

Piyush Goyal said that New Delhi is examining the implications of just announced US tariffs on Indian goods.

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that the central government is studying the implications of tariffs imposed on Indian goods by US President Donald Trump.

While making a statement in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister said, “On 2nd April 2025, the US President issued an executive order on reciprocal tariffs. 10% baseline duty in effect since 5th April 2025. With a 10% baseline tariff, a total of 26% tariff was announced for India. Full country-specific additional tariff was scheduled to come into effect on 9th April 2025. But on 10th April 2025 this was extended initially for 90 days and then extended till 1st August 2025.”

He further said that New Delhi is examining the implications of just announced US tariffs on Indian goods.

Goyal also emphasised that India has risen from the 11th to the fifth largest economy in the past decade due to the contributions of its farmers and MSMEs. He said that India will protect its interests while negotiating any trade deal.

Trump’s Tariff On India

Earlier on Wednesday, the US President Trump announced to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming from India starting August 1, plus an unspecified penalty for buying Russian crude oil and military equipment.

In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump cited India’s high tariffs, stringent non-monetary trade barriers and continued military and energy ties with Russia as the basis for the move.

“India is our friend, but we have… done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are far too high… and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non‑monetary trade barriers of any country,” Donald Trump wrote.

He further criticised India’s defense and energy relationship with Russia, saying, “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!”

“INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST,” he concluded.

Later, he criticised India’s trade policies and its ties with Russia. In his post, Trump dismissed concerns over India’s relationship with Moscow, stating, “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.”

India’s Response

The government on Wednesday said it is studying the implications of Trump’s announcement to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods, along with a penalty from August 1.

“The Government has taken note of a statement by the US President on bilateral trade. The Government is studying its implications,” an official statement said.

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 said.

“The government attaches the utmost importance to protecting and promoting the welfare of farmers, entrepreneurs, and MSMEs. 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.

Shobhit Gupta

Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben…Read More

Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben… Read More

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