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By Shane Croucher
Senior Editor
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U.S. President Donald Trump said India had offered to slash its tariffs amid trade negotiations between the two countries, but warned that it is "getting late".
Trump said India "buys most of its oil and military products from Russia, very little from the U.S." in a new post on his Truth Social account on Monday morning, September 1.
"They have now offered to cut their Tariffs to nothing, but it's getting late. They should have done so years ago. Just some simple facts for people to ponder!!!" Trump wrote.
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Newsweek has contacted the Indian embassy in D.C. for comment.
Modi, Xi, Putin Huddle at SCO in China
Trump's latest remarks came after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for a multilateral economic summit in China to discuss deepening ties.
A video clip from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin showed a jovial exchange between Modi, Putin, and Xi.
Indian relations with the U.S. have soured after Trump imposed additional punitive tariffs related to India's purchases of Russian oil during the war in Ukraine. Trump has also frustrated Modi with his claim to have brought about the India-Pakistan ceasefire.
The renewed warmth between India, Russia, and China highlights the risk of Trump's aggressive stance on trade and foreign policy, which could drive U.S. rivals to improve their cooperation and, over time, reduce American influence in the non-Western world.
Trump Berates India Over 'One-Sided' Trade
India was hit with a 25 percent tariff by Trump to correct what he said was an imbalance in the trading relationship. Trump has imposed tariffs on all U.S. trading partners, offering preferential terms to those who reduce their barriers to American firms.
"What few people understand is that we do very little business with India, but they do a tremendous amount of business with us," Trump wrote in his Truth Social Post.
"In other words, they sell us massive amounts of goods, their biggest 'client,' but we sell them very little - Until now a totally one sided relationship, and it has been for many decades.
"The reason is that India has charged us, until now, such high Tariffs, the most of any country, that our businesses are unable to sell into India. It has been a totally one sided disaster!"
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Modi, Putin Move Closer
Modi had said that he and Putin discussed deepening cooperation between India and Russia in all areas during their talks on the sidelines of the SCO meeting, calling it an "excellent meeting."
"We discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in all areas, including trade, fertilizers, space, security, and culture," Modi posted to X on Monday, September 1. He also posted the message in Russian.
"We exchanged views on regional and global developments, including the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. Our Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership remains a key pillar of regional and global stability."
Putin said Russia and India "have maintained special relations for decades," referring to their close ties during the Cold War, when Moscow was the center of power of the Soviet Union. In recent years, India had shifted closer to Washington—until now.
"Friendly, trusting. This is the foundation for the development of our relations in the future," Putin said. "These relations are absolutely nonpartisan in nature, supported by the overwhelming majority of the peoples of our countries."
China Sees Dragon, Elephant Dancing Together
China's Xi, who has formed a deepening strategic partnership with Russia over the course of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, has also called for closer ties with its neighbor, India, saying the "dragon and the elephant can dance together."
At a meeting on Sunday, Modi and Xi pledged to resolve their border differences and bolster cooperation.
Modi said, in his opening remarks, that relations with China have moved in "a meaningful direction." He stressed "the importance of peace and tranquillity on the border areas for continued development of bilateral relations."
Xi said he hoped the meeting would "further elevate" and "promote the sustained, healthy and stable development of bilateral relations," according to China's state broadcaster CCTV.
Russia Needs China, India for Crude Oil Purchases
China and India are the biggest buyers of Russian crude oil.
In early August, Trump announced that he was hitting India with an additional 25 percent tariff for its continued purchasing of Russian oil, increasing overall duties on certain exports to 50 percent. The new tariffs started on August 27.
There is no sign that either India or China is going to stop buying Russia's oil, a key export for its sanctions-hit war economy.
Update, 9/1/25, 10:36 a.m. ET: This article was updated with more information.
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