A picture used only for representation purposes. According to three Indian officials familiar with this matter in India, India imposed their plans to attach new US weapons and aircraft, in his first specific sign of dissatisfaction after the tariffs imposed his exports to President Donald Trump to their lowest level in decades. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/Istockphoto
According to three Indian officials familiar with this matter in India, India imposed their plans to attach new US weapons and aircraft, in his first specific sign of dissatisfaction after the tariffs imposed his exports to President Donald Trump to their lowest level in decades.
India planned to send the Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh to Washington in the coming weeks for announcing some purchases, but this trip was canceled, two people said. Mr. Trump 6th August ordered another 25% tariff on Indian goods as a punishment for buying Russian oil in Delhi, which, according to him, meant that the country finances Russian invasion of Ukraine. This increased the overall obligation of Indian exports to 50% – among the highest of each business partner in the US.
Trump tariff live
The President has the history of reversing the tariffs quickly, and India said it remains actively involved in discussions with Washington. One of the people said that defense purchases could continue as soon as India had the clarity of tariffs and the direction of bilateral ties, but “just not as soon as she is expected.”
Written instructions were not provided to suspend purchases, another official said, indicating that Delhi had the opportunity to quickly reverse the course, even though there was no move forward for now. ”
After the publication of this story, the Indian government issued a statement that attributed the source of the Ministry of Defense describing reports of pauses in interviews as “false and invented”. The statement also states that the award of public procurement follows “existing procedures”.
Delhi, which has created a close partnership with America in recent years, said it was unfairly focused and that Washington and its European allies continue to trade with Moscow when they are in their interest.
Reuters first reports that discussions on Indian purchases of Stryker combat vehicles created by General Dynamics Land Systems and Javelin anti -tank missiles developed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin were suspended due to tariffs. Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced custom plans and joint production of these items in February. Singh also planned to announce the purchase of six Boeing P8i reconnaissance aircraft and support systems for the Indian Navy during its now trip, two people said. According to officials, interviews were about acquiring an aircraft in the proposed agreement of $ 3.6 billion at an advanced stage.
Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics referred to Indian and American questions. Raytheon did not return a comment application.
Russian relations
India deepening security relations with the US, which is driven by their shared strategic rivalry with China, has been announced by many American analysts as one of the key areas of progress in foreign policy in the first Trump administration. Delhi is the second largest weapon importer in the world and Russia was traditionally its best supplier. In recent years, India has moved to import from Western powers, such as France, Israel and the USA, according to the Stockholm International Institute of Peace Research on Think-Tank.
The shift of suppliers was partially driven by the limitation of Russia’s ability to export weapons that it strongly uses in its invasion of Ukraine. According to Western analysts, some Russian weapons were also attending the battlefield on the battlefield.
The wider partnership in the field of US and India’s defense, which includes news information and joint military exercises, continues without hiccups, one of the Indian officials said.
India also remains open to scaling back on oil imports from Russia and is open to closing shops elsewhere, including the US, if it can obtain similar prices, according to two other Indian sources. Trump’s threats and the growing anti-American nationalism in India “made it difficult for Modi to move from Russia to the US,” one of the people said. However, the discounts on the cost of landing Russian oil have been reduced to the lowest since 2022.
The Ministry of Oil did not respond immediately to the comment request. While the rupture in the US-India ties was sudden, the tribes were in the relationship. Delhi has repeatedly refuted Trump’s claim that after four days of fighting between nuclear armed neighbors in May, the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Trump also hosted the Pakistani Chief of the Army in the White House in weeks after the conflict.
In recent months, Moscow, according to one of the Indian officials and a Russian source familiar with interviews, actively brings Delhi to buy new defense technologies, such as its missile system S-500.
India is currently not seeing the need for new purchases of weapons from Moscow, two officials said.
However, it is unlikely that Delhi would be shut down by Russian weapons, because the decades -long partnership between the two powers means that Indian military systems will continue to require Moscow’s support, one of the officials said.
The Russian Embassy in Delhi did not respond to the request for comment immediately.
Published – August 8, 2025 05:27
