India vowed on Thursday to protect its labour-intensive agriculture sector, a central sticking point in bogged-down trade talks with the U.S., as Washington threatened 25% tariffs, triggering outrage from the opposition and a slump in the rupee.

India is self-sufficient in most farm goods, with the exception of vegetable oils. After liberalising cooking oil imports over three decades ago, the country now has to import nea

President Donald Trump on Wednesday delivered a subtle punch at India in announcing a trade deal with its rival Pakistan after slapping India with 25% tariffs over the country’s ties to U.S. rival Russia.

The comments by top Trump administration officials came a day after Donald Trump announced the imposition of a 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming from India starting August 1, plus an unspecified penalty for buying Russian crude oil and military equipment.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a 25% tariff on imports from India, effective August 1. In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated that the country maintains "some of the highest tariffs in the world" and "non-monetary trade barriers" that he described as restrictive.