Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Earlier today, President Trump signed an Executive Order imposing an additional 25% tariffs on India, on top of the 25% tariffs he announced last week. The Executive Order specifies that the additional tariffs are put into place as retaliation for India’s continued trade in Russian oil.
The additional tariffs would bring the combined tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50%, which is even higher than China, which is facing 30% tariffs from the US government. However, the additional tariffs will go into effect 21 days from today, which leaves some time for the Indian, Russian, and US governments to reach a negotiated agreement.
In the Executive Order, President Trump said, “I determine that it is necessary and appropriate to impose an additional ad valorem duty on imports of articles of India, which is directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil.”
In a press release, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said that the objective of India’s trade with Russia is the energy security of its 1.4 billion-strong population, and is determined by global market forces.
“It is extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions several other countries are also taking in their own national interest,” the statement reads. “We reiterate these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable.”