U.S. President Donald Trump has intensified the ongoing trade war with India by signing an executive order on Wednesday, imposing an additional 25% tariff on Indian imports, raising the total tariff rate to 50%. This follows an earlier 25% tariff implemented on August 1, 2025, signalling a sharp escalation in economic tensions between the two nations.
The new executive order, imposed as ‘penalty’, targets India’s $87 billion export market to the U.S., affecting key sectors such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, gems, jewellery, and auto components. The White House justifies the move by citing India’s persistent trade surplus with the U.S., which reached $45.7 billion in 2024, and its continued purchases of Russian oil and military equipment amid the Ukraine conflict. President Trump has expressed frustration over India’s high tariffs on American goods, which average 17%, and its stringent non-tariff barriers, which he claims hinder U.S. market access.
“India has been a friend, but their trade policies are unfair, and their reliance on Russian energy and arms fuels global instability,” Trump stated on his Truth Social platform. He further accused India of profiting from discounted Russian oil, a point echoed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who described India’s energy trade with Russia as a “point of irritation” in bilateral relations.
The additional 25% tariff, effective in 21 days, comes as a ‘penalty’, as was earlier threatened by President Trump owing to India’s procurement of ‘energy from Russia’. India has on Monday strongly countered U.S. threats, pushed back Trump’s criticism, noting that its Russian oil imports surged only after Western sanctions redirected traditional supplies to Europe. “We buy oil at the best price to protect our people,” MEA has maintained, highlighting the country’s energy needs. New Delhi has also pointed out that the U.S. and EU continue to engage in trade with Russia, accusing them of double standards.
What the White House Order Reads?
"By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2483), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby determine and order:"
Section 1. Background. Executive Order 14066 of March 8, 2022 (Prohibiting Certain Imports and New Investments With Respect to Continued Russian Federation Efforts To Undermine the Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity of Ukraine), expanded the scope of the national emergency declared in Executive Order 14024 of April 15, 2021 (Blocking Property With Respect To Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation), to include the actions taken against Ukraine by the Government of the Russian Federation. To address that unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, Executive Order 14066 prohibited, among other things, the importation into the United States of certain products of Russian Federation origin, including crude oil; petroleum; and petroleum fuels, oils, and products of their distillation.
I have received additional information from various senior officials on, among other things, the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation with respect to the situation in Ukraine. After considering this additional information, among other things, I find that the national emergency described in Executive Order 14066 continues and that 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.
To deal with the national emergency described in Executive Order 14066, 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 my judgment, imposing tariffs, as described below, in addition to maintaining the other measures taken to address the national emergency described in Executive Order 14066, will more effectively deal with the national emergency described in Executive Order 14066.
Sec. 2. Imposition of Tariffs. (a) I find that the Government of India is currently directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil.
(b) Accordingly, and as consistent with applicable law, articles of India imported into the customs territory of the United States shall be subject to an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 25 percent. Subject to section 3 of this order, this rate of duty shall be effective with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time 21 days after the date of this order, except for goods that (1) were loaded onto a vessel at the port of loading and in transit on the final mode of transit prior to entry into the United States before 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time 21 days after the date of this order; and (2) are entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, before 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 17, 2025.
