The White House announced on Wednesday via executive order that it will be levying an additional 25% tariff on India for buying Russian oil—the latest move by U.S. President Donald Trump in an escalating situation between the two countries.
With the additional levy, U.S. tariffs on Indian goods are now 50%, matching that of Brazil, according to NDTV.
“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,”
India’s Ministry of External Affairs put out an official statement on the same day, stating that it has already made its position on the matter clear, especially the fact that its oil imports are “based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India.”
“India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests,” the fifth and final point in the official statement read.
Source: Trading Economics
Urals Crude Oil—a benchmark for Russian crude oil—was priced at $63.93 per barrel at the time of reporting, down by 1.9%.
India is the largest buyer of Russian oil by sea, importing over 1.75 million barrels per day. The South Asian economy uses the Indian rupee instead of the U.S. dollar to sidestep sanctions placed on Russian oil, as per a Reuters report, .
U.S. President Donald Trump said India sold Russian oil on the open market
Trump first voiced the threat of additional tariffs on Monday on Truth Social, saying that India was selling massive quantities of Russian oil on the open market, and because of that, he would be substantially raising tariffs.
“They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine,” said Donald Trump.