It Sure Looks Like Trump Just Lost a Major Trade Deal
Donald Trump is suddenly lashing out at India.

The Trump administration just dashed any chance of a new trade deal with India, imposing a 25 percent tariff on the country Wednesday along with a penalty for buying military equipment and energy from Russia.
The worldâs most populous nation has held off on offering new concessions to the U.S., announcing on Tuesday that it was prepared to accept tariffs as high as 25 percent on its exports to American consumers.
But with just two days on the clock to finalize the deal, it doesnât seem that Donald Trump has a firm handle on Indiaâs jaded approach to the negotiations.
âWE HAVE A MASSIVE TRADE DEFICIT WITH INDIA!!!â he exclaimed on Truth Social Wednesday.
The U.S. imports more goods and services from India than it sells. In 2024, the countryâs trade deficit with India was $45.7 billionâa 5.4 percent increase over the prior year, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
âRemember, 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,â Trump wrote in an earlier post.
âAlso, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russiaâs largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINEâALL THINGS NOT GOOD!â he continued. âINDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25 PERCENT, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. MAGA!â
Historically, it takes U.S. officials roughly 18 months to negotiate a new trade agreement with another country. That boils down to exhaustive reviews of the countryâs prior trade, sorting through thousands of line items of products, and analyzing the complex minutiae of local import and export laws.
Despite the fact that India was one of the first countries to open up new trade negotiations with the U.S. in February, even Trump administration officials have acknowledged that the deal with India is still half-baked. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC Monday that India has âstrong interest in opening portions of its marketâ to U.S. products but that the talks require more time. Last week, Indiaâs Trade Minister Piyush Goyal told Reuters that India was making âgreat progressâ with the Trump administration.
But blowing past traditional expectations in favor of baseless projections has not proven to be a strong success strategy for the second Trump administration. Instead, choosing to throw the country into a trading blitz with dozens of its biggest trading partners has effectively forced the U.S. into a regrettable losing position, with American officials constantly having to hedge on what were supposed to be adamant deadlines.
If Trump is to be believed, however, then Friday could be the exception.
âTHE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE IS THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINEâIT STANDS STRONG, AND WILL NOT BE EXTENDED,â Trump wrote earlier on Wednesday. âA BIG DAY FOR AMERICA!!!â
India isnât the only country holding out on U.S. trade negotiations. China, Mexico, Canada, South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil, Switzerland, and Thailand have also not finalized their arrangements with the Trump administration, though not all of them face the August 1 cutoff.