Trump had previously announced a 25% tariff and then doubled it by adding another 25%, bringing the total tariff on India’s goods to 50%.
Levitt explained during her press briefing that the goal of these sanctions is to exert additional pressure on 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. He's made himself very clear that he wants to see this war end. And he has scoffed at the ideas of others that have been raised that we should wait another month before any meeting takes place," Levitt said.
Earlier, Trump had met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, where Trump expressed his desire for a trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring an end to the Ukraine conflict.