United States President, Donald Trump, announced Wednesday that India will face a 25% tariff starting August 1, along with an additional “penalty” in response to what he described as unfair trade practices and India’s continued purchases of military equipment and energy from Russia.

The 25% rate marks a slight reduction from the 26% tariff he unveiled on “Liberation Day,” but remains at the upper end of the 20% to 25% range he mentioned the previous day.

“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 on Truth Social.

“Also, 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!” he added.

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

Trump has consistently stated that the primary goal of his broad tariff policy is to significantly reduce the United States’ trade deficit with other nations.

In a follow-up on Truth Social , Trump added, “WE HAVE A MASSIVE TRADE DEFICIT WITH INDIA!!!”

Meanwhile, economists have challenged this rationale, arguing that importing goods from countries with lower labor costs allows Americans to benefit from lower prices on finished products.

Earlier this year, Trump declared the United States’ global trade deficit a national security emergency, a move aimed at justifying his use of executive authority to impose unilateral tariffs without seeking approval from Congress.