Trump Slaps 50% Tariff on India Over Russian Oil Imports

by Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Staff

(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump has doubled tariffs on Indian imports to 50%, accusing New Delhi of propping up Russia’s war effort by continuing to import and resell Russian crude oil.

In an executive order issued Tuesday, Trump cited India’s ongoing trade with Moscow, stating, “I find that the Government of India is currently directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil.” The new 25% surcharge adds to the 25% tariff announced last week, making it the highest rate imposed on any U.S. trading partner to date.

The newly announced tariff will take effect in 21 days, while the original 25% levy goes into force this Thursday.

Trump, speaking Monday on CNBC’s Squawk Box, said he would raise tariffs on India “very substantially” within 24 hours, blaming India’s Russian oil purchases for “fueling the war machine” amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. In a separate post on Truth Social, Trump accused India of reselling Russian crude “on the open market for big profits,” adding, “They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed.”

The move is part of a broader pressure campaign by the Trump administration targeting countries that continue energy and military trade with Russia. Trump has threatened secondary tariffs against nations helping sustain what he calls President Vladimir Putin’s “war economy.”

India, for its part, has sharply condemned the U.S. action.

“In this background, the targeting of India is unjustified and unreasonable,” said a spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs. “Our imports are based on market factors and aimed at ensuring energy security for 1.4 billion people.”

Indian officials argue the country is locked into long-term contracts and note that other countries are also purchasing Russian energy. “We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable,” the Indian government said.

Trade tensions between the two nations have simmered for years. Trump has often criticized India’s trade surplus with the U.S., which stood at $45.8 billion in 2024. He’s also taken aim at India’s participation in the BRICS coalition–a bloc Trump recently called “anti-United States.”

“BRICS is basically a group of countries that are anti the United States, and India is a member of that, if you can believe it,” Trump said at a July 30 press conference. “It’s an attack on the dollar, and we are not going to let anybody attack the dollar.”

Despite BRICS’ ambitions to sideline the U.S. dollar, the greenback still accounts for nearly half of global payments, according to SWIFT data from June.

Russia has defended India’s right to trade freely. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blasted the new U.S. tariffs as “threats” and “attempts to force countries to cut trade relations with Russia,” calling them “not legal.”

Meanwhile, Trump has shortened his deadline for Russia to end its war with Ukraine–now giving Moscow just 10 to 12 days. Whether the tariff blitz will bend India’s position remains to be seen, but the move signals a dramatic escalation in Trump’s efforts to isolate Russia economically–regardless of who gets caught in the crossfire.

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