U.S. Profits From Ukraine War, Imposes Tariffs on India

As U.S. President Donald Trump imposes punishing 50% tariffs on Indian imports over its trade with Russia, a revealing report from the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) exposes how the United States has reaped massive profits from the ongoing Ukraine conflict. The American defense-industrial complex has seen “explosive” growth since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, with the U.S. supplying 45% of Ukraine’s arms, fueling a 9.4% surge in global defense spending to $2.72 trillion in 2024—the steepest rise since the Cold War’s end.

The ORF report highlights that Ukraine, now the world’s top arms importer, accounted for 8.8% of global arms imports between 2020 and 2024, a staggering 9,627% increase from 2015-19. The U.S., commanding 43% of global arms exports during this period, up from 35% in 2014-19, has leveraged its defense-industrial base (DIB) to supply Ukraine with weapons, munitions, and military hardware while replenishing allied stockpiles. In 2024 alone, U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) soared to $117.9 billion, a 45.7% jump from $80.9 billion in 2023, with direct commercial sales rising 27.6% to $200.8 billion. Major contractors like Lockheed Martin, RTX, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, and Boeing secured over a third of Pentagon contracts, underscoring the sector’s dominance.

Since 2024, the U.S. has shifted from direct aid to arms sales, exemplified by an $825 million deal in August 2025 for 3,350 Extended Range Attack Munitions (ERAM) missiles, funded through NATO allies and U.S. Foreign Military Financing (FMF) programs. At a July 14, 2025, meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump secured commitments for $2 billion in American arms purchases through the NATO Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), with countries like the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, and Canada each funding $500 million packages for artillery, munitions, and equipment. The 2025 NATO Summit further saw members pledge to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, a 150% increase from the 2% target set in 2006, with the U.S. capturing 64% of NATO allies’ arms imports in 2020-24.

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While the U.S. profits from this arms boom, it has targeted India with tariffs, accusing New Delhi of indirectly funding Russia’s war through its purchase of discounted Russian oil, which rose to 40% of India’s imports since 2022. Critics, including India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, have called out the hypocrisy, noting that the U.S. and Europe continue to trade with Russia while singling out India. The tariffs, comprising a 25% base rate and an additional 25% penalty, threaten to slash India’s $87 billion export market to the U.S. by over 40%, impacting labor-intensive sectors like textiles and jewelry.

The juxtaposition of U.S. military profits and its punitive measures against India has sparked global debate about double standards in geopolitics. As the Ukraine conflict drives unprecedented defense revenues for American firms, India’s defiance in maintaining its energy security highlights the complex interplay of economic interests and international relations, with the U.S. emerging as a key beneficiary of the very war it claims to oppose.

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