Trump hits India with an additional 25% tariff to buy Russian oil

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

This will raise the overall Tariff for the import of Indian to the United States to 50% – among the highest percentages imposed by the United States.

The new rate is “effective in terms of goods introduced for consumption, or withdrawn from a consumer warehouse, at or after 12:01 am Eastern daylight 21 days after the date of this order,” the execution order states.

The US president earlier warned that he would raise taxes, saying that India “is not interested in how many people in Ukraine were killed by the Russian war machine.”

“The actions of the Russian Federation in Ukraine pose a constant threat to US national security and foreign policy, which requires more strong measures to deal with the national emergency situation,” the White House said in a statement.

“India’s imports to the Russian Federation’s oil undermines US efforts to counteract Russia’s harmful activities.”

The White House said the import of India and the subsequent resale of Russian oil on the market “further enables the economy of the Russian Federation to fund its aggression (in Ukraine).”

It states that the US president uses a tariff to “deter the countries to support the economy of the Russian Federation.”

He added that the United States would determine which other countries were importing oil from Russia and “recommend additional actions to the president as needed.”

The threatening hike of the tariffs follows the meetings of Trump’s best envoy Steve Vitcof in Moscow, aimed at providing peace between Russia and Ukraine.

Previously, New Delhi called Trump’s threat to raise rates because of the purchase of oil from Russia “unjustified and unreasonable.”

In an early statement, a spokesman for India Foreign Ministry Randhir Jaicwal said the United States encouraged India to import Russian gas at the beginning of the conflict, “to strengthen the stability of global energy markets.”

He said India “has begun to import from Russia because traditional supplies have been diverted to Europe after the conflict outbreak.”

India also criticizes the United States – its largest trading partner – for the introduction of tariffs, when the US itself is still trading with Russia.

Last year, the United States traded goods worth approximately $ 3.5 billion ($ 2.6 billion) with Russia, despite heavy sanctions and tariffs.

“Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to protect its national interests and economic security,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.