(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump declared on Tuesday his intention to “substantially” raise tariffs on goods imported from India within the next 24 hours, citing India’s ongoing purchases of Russian crude oil as the main reason.

This announcement follows India’s recent dismissal of criticism from both the US and EU regarding its oil dealings with Russia. India emphasized that it would take necessary steps to “safeguard its national interests and economic security,” and described the criticism as unjustified.

Labeling India as the “highest tariff nation,” Trump told a news agency in a phone interview that India has not been a fair trading partner.

“They do a lot of business with us but we don't do with them. So, we settled on 25% but am going to raise them substantially in the next 24 hours because they're buying Russian oil and they're fueling the war machine,” Trump said.

According to the Indian government, bilateral trade between the two countries hit $131.8 billion in the 2024-25 fiscal year, with India enjoying a trade surplus of $41.18 billion.

During the interview, Trump also claimed that India had offered to completely remove tariffs on US imports.

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