Trump doubles tariffs on Indian exports to 50%, blames Russian oil purchases

After his stern warning to raise duties on Indian exports "substantially", US President Donald Trump has just signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on India in response to its continued purchase of Russian oil, thus taking the overall tariff rate on India's exports to 50%.

Trump had already announced a sweeping 25% tariff on all Indian goods exports to the US, effective August 1, and said he would impose an additional "penalty" on India for indulging in business with Russia in areas of energy and military equipment.

In his latest executive order, Trump has said, considering Russia's actions in Ukraine, to deal with the national emergency, it is necessary and appropriate to impose an additional duty on imports of articles of India, which, he said, is directly or indirectly importing Russian oil.

"I find that the Government of India is currently directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil," Trump's order said.

Trump said following the executive order, articles of India imported into the customs territory of the US will be subject to an "additional ad valorem rate of duty of 25%".

While the initial tariff of 25% is applicable from August 1, the new tax levy will be effective after 21 days, i.e August 27. Trump's latest executive order says the new rate of duty will be effective for goods entering the US 21 days after this order is issued. However, goods already shipped to the US before that will not be affected as they are entered for use or taken for storage before September 17, 2025.

The US President on Wednesday had threatened to impose higher tariffs on India in the next 24 hours for India's purchase of Russian oil. He also said that potential tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals, a sector where India is a major exporter, could reach 250%, aiming to boost domestic production.

India, in its response, has already issued a strong rebuttal against Trump’s threats, saying the US is unfairly targeting India when the US and EU's Russian imports are much higher than India's. The MEA said that despite the Russia-Ukraine war, both the European Union and the US continue to have strong trade ties with Russia, and that India began importing from Russia as traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict.

Trump's latest tariff announcement with regards to India comes as the India-US bilateral Trade Agreement negotiations, which were launched in March 2025, have failed to reach a meaningful agreement so far. Five rounds of negotiations have been held, the last being from July 14-18, 2025, in Washington, USA, and both governments are yet to announce any significant progress. The sixth round of talks is expected to happen at the end of August.

Notably, India has already signed a mega trade deal with the UK, which allows zero-duty access to 99% of India’s exports to the United Kingdom. The agreement is expected to see bilateral trade between the two countries double from the current $56 billion in the next five years.