Time to redouble efforts, not pull apart, says US-India Business Council amid U.S.-India tariff row

Amid the ongoing row over the tariffs and penalties imposed by the Trump administration on India, citing India’s trade relations with Russia, the US-India Business Council (USIBC) said on Thursday (August 7, 2025) that it is “time to redouble our efforts, not pull apart.”

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday (August 6) signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on imports from India, in response to India “directly or indirectly” importing oil from Russia. This is over and above the 25% tariff on Indian imports that Mr. Trump approved on July 31.

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Ambassador (ret.) Atul Keshap, President, USIBC, in a statement said, “The partnership the United States and India have forged in recent years has brought significant mutual benefits, and our elected leaders should be proud of all they’ve accomplished.”

“The business community sees our shared strategic interests and complementary economies as powerful arguments to continue on this path. It’s time to redouble our efforts, not pull apart. Business stands ready to help.”, he added.

Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) responded to these latest developments, saying it has made its stand clear — through an earlier statement following Mr. Trump’s threat of additional tariffs — that these actions were “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”. It was “extremely unfortunate” that the U.S. has chosen this course of action, the MEA said.