U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian imports, citing New Delhi’s continued import of Russian oil, marking a significant downturn in ties between the two states.
The new import tax, which comes into effect in three weeks, raises duties on several Indian exports to the U.S. to as high as 50%. It would particularly impact India’s shipments of textiles, footwear, gems and jewelry.
Trade between Washington and Delhi is worth over $190 billion and the massive tax risks severely disrupting more than half of all Indian exports to the U.S. It also boosts India’s trade rivals, including Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Japan, who all face significantly lower duties.
The move has attracted criticism from within India, especially after the warm ties seen between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in both his first term and the start of the current term. In a statement, India’s foreign ministry dubbed the decision extremely unfortunate. It also reiterated that many other countries were also importing Russian oil in their national economic interest.
“India will take all necessary steps to protect its national interests,” it said, maintaining the purchases helped ensure reliable prices of oil for energy needs of India’s 1.4 billion people.
A notable omission from Trump’s executive order was China, which also imports Russian oil. Modi is set to visit China at the end of this month for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, his first time in seven years, suggesting Delhi may be seeking a realignment in alliances as its relations with Washington fray.