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.
“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.
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.