United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that his country will levy a 25% tariff on goods imported from India from August 1, Reuters reported.

Trump added that India will also have to pay a “penalty” for buying a large portion of its military equipment from Russia. However, he did not specify the quantum of the “penalty”.

“Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country,” the US president said in a Truth Social post.

Trump also said that India has been buying the vast majority of its military equipment from Russia and has also been relying on the country for its energy needs, “at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE”.

On Tuesday, Trump had said that India could be hit with 20% to 25% tariffs, noting that a trade deal with the country had not yet been finalised.

“India has been a good friend, but India has charged basically more tariffs than almost any other country,” Trump said on Tuesday. “You just can’t do that.”

The United States has said on several occasions it will impose “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of countries that have not negotiated separate trade agreements with it by August 1.

Trump announced higher levies in April, before pausing those tariffs at a reduced 10% rate to allow time for negotiations. Despite an extended deadline, Trump has only secured a handful of deals.

On Monday, the US president had said that he would likely introduce a global baseline tariff between 15% and 20% for countries that had not negotiated trade deals with his administration.

Trump had said on June 27 that New Delhi could sign a “very big” trade deal with Washington soon. On July 2, the White House said that the deal was close to being finalised and would be announced soon.

An Indian team led by Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had visited the US in May to negotiate the agreement. Following this, a team of negotiators from the US was in India for a week in June.