Trump imposes 25% additional tariff on Indian imports over Russian oil

US President Donald Trump today signed an executive order imposing a 25% additional ad valorem duty on Indian goods imported into the United States. The move comes as Washington accuses New Delhi of directly or indirectly importing oil from the Russian Federation.

This is on top of the 25% tariff already imposed by the US President on August 1, taking the total tariffs on Indian imports to 50%.

The new tariff will come into effect 21 days from today, by August 27, 2025, impacting all Indian-origin goods entering U.S. customs territory, unless already in transit before the deadline and cleared before September 17.

The executive order, issued from the White House, is part of a broader action under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and follows earlier orders aimed at penalising Russian aggression in Ukraine.

The White House has now linked India's oil purchases to that ongoing national emergency, concluding that such imports “continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”

“Imposing tariffs… will more effectively deal with the national emergency,” the order reads.

Further, the order warns that imports subject to this new duty and entering through U.S. Foreign Trade Zones must be classified under “privileged foreign status,” limiting some supply chain workarounds.

The order does leave space for reversal. Should India “align sufficiently with the United States on national security, foreign policy, and economic matters,” the President may modify or lift these tariffs.