Trump hits India with extra 25% tariff for buying Russian oil

US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order on Wednesday hitting India with additional 25% tariff over its purchases of Russian oil.

That will raise the total tariff on Indian imports to the United States to 50%.

The new rate shall be “effective with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time 21 days after the date of this order”, the executive order stated.

The US president had earlier warned he would raise levies, saying India “don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine”.

“The Russian Federation’s actions in Ukraine pose an ongoing threat to US national security and foreign policy, necessitating stronger measures to address the national emergency,” according to a White House statement.

“India’s importation of Russian Federation oil undermines US efforts to counter Russia’s harmful activities.”

New Delhi had previously called Trump’s threat to raise tariffs over its purchase of oil from Russia “unjustified and unreasonable”.

In an earlier statement, a spokesperson for India’s foreign ministry, Randhir Jaiswal, said the US had encouraged India to import Russian gas at the start of the conflict, “for strengthening global energy markets stability”.

He said India “began importing from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict”.