US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on goods imported from India, doubling the total tariff to 50%, the White House said.
The move comes in response to India’s continued direct and indirect imports of oil from the Russian Federation, which the administration said undermines US foreign policy and economic interests.
According to the order, all articles imported into the United States from India will now be subject to an additional ad valorem duty of 25 percent.
“The President has determined it is necessary and appropriate to impose an additional ad valorem rate of duty on imports of articles from India,” the White House said in a statement, adding that the action was in response to India’s continued engagement with Russian energy exports despite geopolitical concerns.
The executive order states that India’s trade practices related to Russian oil undermine US foreign policy objectives and warrant corrective economic measures.
The tariff is set to take effect in three weeks and would be added on top of a separate 25 percent tariff entering into force on Thursday. It maintains exemptions for items targeted by separate sector-specific duties such as steel and aluminum, and categories that could be hit like pharmaceuticals.
The move was anticipated, after President Trump on Monday threatened to “substantially” raise US tariffs on Indian goods over the country’s continued purchases of Russian oil — a key source of funding for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
In a post to his Truth Social platform, the president said that India was “buying massive amounts of Russian Oil” and selling it for “big profits.”
“They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine,” Trump added. “Because of this, I will be substantially raising the tariff paid by India to the USA.”
Hours after mentioning a possible tariff hike on India, Trump said again on Tuesday that he would increase the tariff charged on imports from India from the current rate of 25% “very substantially” within the next 24 hours, citing New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil.
“They’re fueling the war machine, and if they’re going to do that, then I’m not going to be happy,” Trump told CNBC in an interview.
