Overview

• Tariffs at 50% took effect on August 27 under an executive order that adds a 25% national‑security penalty to an existing 25% duty, with U.S. Customs applying the rate to Indian goods entering for consumption from that date.
• White House trade adviser Peter Navarro escalated attacks by calling India an “oil money laundromat for the Kremlin” and suggesting relief if Russian oil purchases stop, echoing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s claim of $16 billion in excess profits for wealthy Indian interests.
• India condemned the duties as unfair and is seeking to restart formal trade talks once the tariff overhang is resolved, while officials weigh liquidity support for exporters and accelerate diversification through an Export Promotion Mission and new FTAs, including with Gulf partners.
• Exporter groups and analysts warn of severe strain in labor‑intensive sectors such as garments, gems and jewellery, footwear and seafood, reporting halted production, cancelled orders and early layoffs, with estimates that roughly half to two‑thirds of shipments to the U.S. now face the top rate.
• Critics in the West, including Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, questioned why China—an even larger buyer of Russian oil—was spared similar penalties, a gap Indian and U.S. analyses link to Beijing’s leverage on rare earths and a current tariff truce.