U.S. President Donald Trump said India will be hit with a 25 percent tariff rate as of 1 August, the same date a range of other countries will also be hit by new tariffs if the deadline is not extended.
Trump first threatened to increase tariffs across almost every country in the world in early April before pausing them on most countries a few days later. At the time, India – the third-largest source of seafood imported to the U.S. by value – was being threatened with a 27 percent tariff.
Now, in a post on his social media site Truth Social, Trump announced India will be hit with a 25 percent tariff as of 1 August for a number of different reasons.
“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,” Trump wrote.
Trump also cited India’s purchases of military equipment and energy from Russia as a reason for the new higher tariff as Russia continues its war against Ukraine it started in February 2022.
India is the top source of imported shrimp in the U.S., but the industry will now be facing tariff rates from multiples sources.
Trump’s 25 percent tariff will stack on antidumping and countervailing duties imposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce, such as a 7.92 percent antidumping duty on exporter Megaa Moda, a 2.34 percent duty set in 2018, and a 5.77 percent countervailing duty set in 2024.
The tariff announcement also comes as competing shrimp exporters Indonesia and Ecuador are facing lower duties. The U.S. recently announced a trade deal with Indonesia setting its tariff rate at 19 percent, and Ecuador – another top shrimp exporter – will only face a 10 percent tariff.
As India faces down a 25 percent tariff, a range of other countries worldwide are also facing a similar 1 August deadline on trade deals. Trump, in a post on social media, said that deadline will not be shifted.
“THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE IS THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE – IT STANDS STRONG, AND WILL NOT BE EXTENDED,” Trump wrote. “A BIG DAY FOR AMERICA!!!”
The one country not facing an 1 August deadline is China, which is instead facing an 12 August deadline on trade negotiations.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters that Trump has final say on all trade deals, while Chinese Trade Negotiator Li Chenggang reportedly told media the two sides were agreeing on extending a 90-day pause on most of the U.S.’s tariffs.
China is facing tariffs of over 125 percent on many goods if the tariffs are not paused after a series of escalations between the two countries.
