Trump hikes tariff on India to 50% over ‘oil purchases from Russia’

US President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Wednesday imposing an additional 25% tariff on goods from India, saying the country directly or indirectly imported Russian oil, adding to 25% tariffs already announced.

The development comes a day after Trump said he would increase the tariff charged on imports from India over the next 24 hours, given India’s continued purchases of Russian oil.

The tariff is set to take effect in three weeks and would be added on top of a separate 25% tariff entering into force on Thursday. It maintains exemptions for items targeted by separate sector-specific duties such as steel and aluminum, and categories that could be hit like pharmaceuticals.

The move threatens to further complicate US-Indian relations and comes shortly after a Indian government source said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would visit China for the first time in over seven years later this month.

US-India ties are facing their most serious crisis in years after talks with India failed to produce a trade agreement.

The White House move, first signaled 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.

Trump has threatened higher tariffs on Russia and secondary sanctions on its allies, if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not move to end the war in Ukraine.