President Trump has imposed an additional 25% tariff on goods from India over its imports of oil from Russia, the White House said on Wednesday, raising the rate from 25% to 50%.
In a newly issued executive order, Trump stated that India is continuing to import oil from Russia, either directly or indirectly. Because of these ongoing transactions, Trump said an additional 25% duty would be imposed on Indian goods entering the U.S. market: “I find that the Government of India is currently directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil. Accordingly, and as consistent with applicable law, articles of India imported into the customs territory of the United States shall be subject to an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 25 percent.”
This new increase will be added to the 25% tariff already set to take effect Wednesday night, part of a broader wave of tariffs Trump is implementing across several major trading partners. The additional duty is scheduled to be enforced within 21 days. At 50%, India would face one of the highest import tariffs levied by the U.S. on any country. Other nations facing similar high tariffs include Brazil at 50%, Syria at 41%, Myanmar at 40%, and Switzerland at 39%.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs pushed back in response to the latest tariff escalation, stating that the Trump administration’s targeting of India over Russian oil imports was “unjustified and unreasonable” and that it “will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security.” India has previously claimed that its purchases of Russian oil were made with the knowledge and backing of the United States.
During an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Trump criticized India’s trade practices, saying, “India has not been a good trading partner, because they do a lot of business with us, but we don’t do business with them. So we settled on 25% [tariffs] but I think I’m going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they’re buying Russian oil. They’re fueling the war machine.”
According to data from the Commerce Department, India ranked as the 10th-largest exporter of goods to the United States in 2024, with imports exceeding $87 billion. Among the top categories were machinery, plastics, rubber, chemicals, metals, glass, and agricultural products.
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