India is unlikely to move forward with defence purchases from the United States after Donald Trump announced a steep 25% tariff on Indian exports, according to a report by Bloomberg. While India has not announced any immediate retaliation, officials familiar with the matter say New Delhi is now reconsidering some major decisions, especially in the area of defence cooperation.

One of the key moves includes India backing out of the proposed purchase of F-35 stealth fighter jets. Trump had offered to sell these advanced aircraft to India during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US earlier this year in February. However, Indian officials have now communicated that they are not interested in the deal. Instead, the Indian government is more focused on joint partnerships that involve co-designing and manufacturing defence equipment within India. This is in line with the country’s "Make in India" initiative, which aims to boost domestic defence production.

At the same time, India is exploring other ways to manage the situation without escalating tensions. The government is considering increasing its imports from the US to reduce the trade surplus. This may include buying more natural gas, communication devices, and even gold. These steps are aimed at softening the impact of the new tariffs while keeping trade talks with the US on track.

Donald Trump, while announcing the tariffs, criticised India for its high import duties and non-monetary trade barriers. He said the US had done very little business with India because of these issues. Trump also accused India of continuing to buy most of its defence equipment from Russia and being one of Russia’s largest energy customers, along with China. He said that because of India’s close ties with Russia, the 25% tariff would come with an added penalty, effective August 1.

In a strong remark, Trump said, “India can take its dead economy down with Russia, for all I care,” making it clear that the new tariffs were part of a larger political and economic message.