Trump slaps 50-percent tariff on Indian goods over imports of Russian oil

United States President Donald Trump has issued an executive order imposing an additional 25-percent tariff on goods from India, as penalty for importing Russian oil.

Wednesday’s hike comes in addition to the 25-percent tariff India already faces, making it subject to one of the US’s highest import tax brackets under Trump, at a total of 50 percent.In his executive order, Trump explained that Russia’s continued military actions in Ukraine constituted a “national emergency” and it was therefore “necessary and appropriate” to place heightened tariffs on India, a major consumer of its petroleum products.

“I find that the Government of India is currently directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil,” Trump wrote.

“The actions and policies of the Government of the Russian Federation continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”

The tariff increase is slated to come into effect 21 days after the announcement, leaving a window open for India and the US to negotiate a lower rate.

But the move threatens to further complicate US-Indian relations. Brazil is the only other country to face a 50-percent overall tariff rate.

India and the US engaged in five rounds of trade talks in the lead-up to Wednesday’s announcement. In April, US Vice President JD Vance even travelled to New Delhi to help helm the negotiations.

But months of haggling have failed to produce a trade agreement, and experts say US-India ties are now facing their most serious crisis in years.An Indian government source told the news agency Reuters that Modi would attend a security summit in the city of Tianjin, a sign of easing tensions with China, despite past clashes over borders and water rights.

The White House move, first signalled 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.