U.S. President Donald Trump said he will "very substantially" raise tariffs on Indian goods within the next 24 hours, arguing that New Delhi’s purchases of Russian crude are helping to finance Moscow’s war in Ukraine. The planned increase would build on an existing 25% levy imposed last month and marks a sharp escalation in bilateral trade tensions. India’s foreign ministry dismissed the warning as “unjustified and unreasonable,” accusing Washington and the European Union of a double standard given their own extensive commerce with Russia. New Delhi cited European Union trade with Moscow of €67.5 billion last year, including record liquefied-natural-gas imports, and pointed to continued U.S. purchases of Russian uranium and other commodities. The Kremlin labelled Trump’s threat “illegal” and said sovereign nations have the right to choose their trading partners. Moscow’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov condemned what he called U.S. attempts to bully countries into curbing ties with Russia. The dispute rippled through Indian financial markets. The rupee weakened to a lifetime low of 87.95 per dollar before settling at 87.80, while the benchmark Nifty 50 slid 0.3% and the Sensex fell 0.38%. Energy refiners and export-oriented stocks led the decline as investors weighed the risk of steeper U.S. duties. Trump used the same CNBC interview to outline a broader protectionist push. He said tariffs on pharmaceutical imports will begin at a “small” level next week but could rise to 150% and then 250% within 18 months, and that separate levies on semiconductor chips are being finalised. He also warned of a potential 35% duty on certain European goods, signalling that Washington’s trade offensive is set to widen beyond India.