India has taken this step in response to US President Donald Trump's 50 percent tariff on Indian exports.
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International media reported that India has decided to postpone the plan to purchase new weapons and aircraft from the US.
India has taken this step in response to US President Donald Trump's 50 percent tariff on Indian exports. According to the Reuters news agency citing three Indian officials, India planned to send Defense Minister Rajnath Singh to Washington to announce the arms purchase within the last few weeks. However, now the visit has been cancelled. However, India issued a statement on Friday saying that the news that the arms talks had stalled was "false and fabricated".
Earlier this week, relations between the two countries have soured after President Trump imposed an additional 25 percent tax on Indian goods. He said that this was done to punish India for providing financial support to Moscow in the Russia-Ukraine war. With this, the total customs duty on Indian exports has reached 50 percent.
According to Reuters, the discussions regarding the purchase of the 'Stryker' combat vehicle made by General Dynamics Land Systems and the 'Javelin' anti-tank missile developed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin are currently on hold. Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had previously prepared to advance the plan for the purchase and joint production of these materials in February.
Once there is more clarity on tariffs and the direction in which the relationship between the two countries will turn, India may move ahead with the procurement of defense equipment, but not as soon as currently expected, Reuters wrote, quoting an Indian official.
Pointing out that the US and its European allies are doing business with Moscow according to their own interests, New Delhi has been reacting that it has been unfairly targeted. Prime Minister Modi convened a high-level cabinet meeting on Friday to discuss the impact of the heavy tax imposed on Indian goods exported to the US. Trump has said that he will not hold trade talks with India until the current tensions are resolved.
Trump has imposed this punitive tax on India to increase economic pressure on Moscow in the Russia-Ukraine war, according to NDT's analysis. India is the second largest buyer of Russian oil. Trump has also set a 50-day deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire. He said he would impose a punitive tax on all buyers of Russian oil. Later he reduced this time to 12 days, which ended on Friday. The customs duty imposed by him on Indian exports will be effective from August 27.
