Key desk
- Trump has imposed an additional 25pc tariff on Indian goods
- It has raised the total duty on Indian exports to 50pc
- India denies pausing US arms purchase
ISLAMABAD: India has reportedly put on hold its plans to procure new US weapons and aircraft following Trump’s punitive tariffs on New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil.
Reuters news agency reported, citing Indian officials familiar with the matter, that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to Washington has also been cancelled.
Lowest in decades
India’s ties with the US are at their lowest level in decades.
Trump, on August 6, imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods as punishment for Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil, which he said meant the country was funding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
That raised the total duty on Indian exports to 50 per cent – among the highest of any US trading partner.
According to Reuters, one of the people said the defence purchases could go ahead once India had clarity on tariffs and the direction of bilateral ties, but “just not as soon as they were expected to.”
“No forward movement”
Written instructions had not been given to pause the purchases, another official said, indicating that Delhi had the option to quickly reverse course, though there was “no forward movement at least for now.”
However, the Indian Defence Ministry has denied reports claiming that India plans to pause its arms purchases from the US.
“The news reports on India pausing the talks related to defence purchases with the US are false and fabricated. It is clarified that the various cases of procurement are being progressed as per the extant procedures,” NDTV reported, citing defence ministry sources.
