Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday he will not compromise the interests of the country's farmers even if he has to pay a heavy price, in his first comments after U.S. President Donald Trump's salvo of a 50% tariff on Indian goods.

India, which now faces among the highest tariff rates imposed by the US, called the levy "unjustified and unreasonable".

The Indian prime minister has said his country "is ready" to react to President Donald Trump's additional 25 percent levy on goods entering the U.S.