US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order on Wednesday hitting India with an additional 25% tariff over its purchases of Russian oil.
That will raise the total tariff on Indian imports to the United States to 50% – among the highest rates imposed by the US.
The new rate shall be effective “21 days after the date of this order”, the executive order stated.
A response from India’s foreign ministry on Wednesday said New Delhi had already made clear its stance on imports from Russia, and reiterated that the tariff is “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”.
“It is therefore extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest,” the statement read.
The US president had earlier warned he would raise levies, saying India officials “don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine”.
On Wednesday, the White House said in a statement that 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.
“India’s importation of Russian Federation oil undermines US efforts to counter Russia’s harmful activities.”
The White House added that India import and subsequent reselling of Russian oil on the market “further enables the Russian Federation’s economy to fund its aggression [in Ukraine]”.
It added that the US will determine which other countries import oil from Russia, and will “recommend further actions to the President as needed”.
The threatened tariff hike follows meetings on Wednesday by Trump’s top envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow, aimed at securing peace between Russia and Ukraine.
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”.
The latest threatened tariff demonstrates Trump’s willingness to impose sanctions related to the war in Ukraine even against nations that the US considers to be important allies or trading partners.
This could be a warning that other countries could feel a real bite if Trump ramps up those kind of sanctions once Friday’s deadline passes, when the US president has threatened new sanctions on Russia and to place 100% tariffs on countries that purchase its oil.
India has previously criticised the US – its largest trading partner – for introducing the tariffs, when the US itself is still doing trade with Russia.
“Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,” the foreign ministry statement said.
Last year, the US traded goods worth an estimated $3.5bn (£2.6bn) with Russia, despite tough sanctions and tariffs.
With files from BBC North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher.
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