Trump imposes additional tariff on imports from India over Russian oil purchases

US President Donald Trump today issued an order imposing an additional 25 percent tariff on imports of Indian goods. The move responds to India continuing to buy Russian oil, the White House said. The additional tariff will take effect in 21 days, doubling the total tariff burden to 50 percent, the Associated Press reports. The Indian government called the US move unfair and unreasonable and said it would take all necessary steps to protect its interests.

"Our imports are guided by market criteria and aim to ensure energy security for India's 1.4 billion people," India's Ministry of External Affairs said, according to AFP.

"It is therefore extremely regrettable that the US has decided to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries also take in pursuit of their national interests," the ministry added.

Trump announced plans to impose the additional tariff on Monday. India, he said, buys substantial volumes of Russian oil and then sells it on the open market at a large profit, helping to finance the war in Ukraine. "They have no concern for how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian war machine," the US president wrote on his social network Truth Social.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Moscow was taking note of US threats against India over its purchases of Russian oil and did not consider the move legitimate. Sovereign states have the right to choose their trading partners based on their own interests, he said.

India has significantly increased its purchases of Russian oil since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia now accounts for more than a third of India's oil imports, compared with less than one percent before the war in Ukraine.

Trump's move could further complicate relations between the US and India. It comes amid reports that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is preparing to visit China for the first time in more than seven years, Reuters noted.

Analysts warn that high US tariffs could seriously disrupt Indian exports. Key Indian exports include textiles, footwear and jewellery. "Exports to the US will no longer be viable at this tariff rate," analysts at Elara Securities said.

However, Brian Jacobsen, an analyst at Annex Wealth Management, noted that the additional tariff will not take effect for some time, during which the situation could change. He also pointed out that a number of goods are exempt. The additional tariff could therefore prove to be more symbolic, he said.