Trump slaps India with additional 25% tariff, increasing total levy to 50%

WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Wednesday imposing an additional 25% tariff on goods from India, increasing the total levy to 50 per cent, after he warned the New Delhi of action over its oil purchases from Russia.

Donald Trump imposed the additional tariff over India’s continued purchase of Russian oil, a key revenue source for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

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.

Read More: Trump says US to impose 25% tariff on India from Aug 1

The move threatens to further complicate U.S.-Indian relations and comes shortly after a Indian government source said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would visit China for the first time in over seven years later this month.

U.S.-India ties are facing their most serious crisis in years after talks with India failed to produce a trade agreement.

The White House move, first signaled by Trump on Monday, follows meetings by Trump’s top diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow aimed at pushing Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine.

Trump has threatened higher tariffs on Russia and secondary sanctions on its allies, if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not move to end the war in Ukraine.

Read More: India will buy Russian oil despite Trump’s threats

Earlier, Indian officials said they would keep purchasing oil from Russia despite the threat of penalties that U.S. President Donald Trump said he would impose, the New York Times reported on Saturday.

The White House, India’s Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump blasts India, Russia as ‘dead economies’

Two senior Indian officials said there had been no change in policy, according to the NYT report, which added that one official said the government had “not given any direction to oil companies” to cut back imports from Russia.

Reuters had earlier reported that Indian state refiners stopped buying Russian oil in the past week as discounts narrowed in July.

On July 14, Trump threatened 100% tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil unless Moscow reaches a major peace deal with Ukraine. Russia is the top supplier to India, responsible for about 35% of India’s overall supplies.