US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would increase the tariff charged on imports from India from the current rate of 25 per cent “very substantially” over the next 24 hours, given New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil.

He also said a “zero tariff” offer for imports of US goods into India was not good enough, alleging that India was “fuelling the war” in Ukraine.

“They’re fuelling the war machine, and if they’re going to do that, then I’m not going to be happy,” Trump told CNBC on Tuesday, adding that the main sticking point with India was that its tariffs were too high.

“India went from the highest tariffs ever. They will give us zero tariffs, and they’re going to let us go in. But that’s not good enough, because of what they’re doing with oil, not good.”

An Indian government source said that India’s purchases of Russian oil have helped to stabilise global oil prices by easing the pressure on supplies from other regions. India, the world’s third biggest oil importer and consumer, buys more than a third of the oil it needs from Russia.

“If we stop buying Russian oil, who will replace those barrels to maintain balance (in the market) and at the same time prevent the prices from shooting up? We don’t want a repeat of 2022 when prices shot up to $137 a barrel,” the source said, referring to the oil market spike around the time when Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine began.

Trump’s latest comment followed a similar threat on Monday, which prompted India’s foreign ministry to say the country was being unfairly singled out over its purchases of Russian oil.

The EU conducted 67.5 billion euros ($78.0 billion) worth of trade with Russia in 2024, including record imports of liquefied natural gas that totalled 16.5 million metric tonnes, the Indian ministry said.

The US continues to import Russian uranium hexafluoride for use in its nuclear power industry, palladium, fertilisers and chemicals, it added, without giving a source for the export information.

Russia reacts

On Tuesday, Russia defended India’s right to select trade partners, saying sovereign countries have the right to select their partners in trade and economic cooperation based on their interests.

“We believe that sovereign countries must have and do have the right to choose their trade partners, the partners in trade and economic cooperation, on their own and independently determine those modes of trade and economic cooperation that suit the interests of a country in question,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

Pharma and chips

Trump said on Tuesday that the US would initially place a “small tariff” on pharmaceutical imports before hiking it to 150 per cent within 18 months and eventually to 250 per cent in an effort to boost domestic production. He did not specify the initial tariff rate on pharmaceuticals.

He added that he plans to announce tariffs on semiconductors and chips in the “next week or so,” but gave no further details.