The White House said that President Donald Trump’s decision to impose steep tariffs on India was aimed at indirectly pressuring Russia to end its war in Ukraine.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump had doubled India’s tariff rate to 50 per cent — adding a 25 per cent levy on top of the existing 25 per cent. She framed the move as part of the administration’s strategy to squeeze Moscow by targeting countries that keep trading with Russia.

“The president has put tremendous public pressure to bring this war to a close. He’s taken actions, as you’ve seen, sanctions on India and other actions as well,” adding that the intent was to apply “secondary pressure” on Moscow.

“He has scoffed at the ideas of others that have been raised that we should wait another month before any meeting takes place. The president wants to move, and he wants to bring this war to an end as quickly as possible,” she added.

This comes just days after Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, where both leaders signalled progress towards a potential trilateral dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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