Washington. US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to place an additional 25 percent tariff on India for its purchases of Russian oil, bringing the combined tariffs imposed by the United States on its ally to 50 percent.

The tariffs would go into effect 21 days after the signing of the order, meaning that both India and Russia might have time to negotiate with the administration on the import taxes.

Trump's moves could scramble the economic trajectory of India, which until recently was seen as an alternative to China by American companies looking to relocate their manufacturing. China also buys oil from Russia, but it was not included in the order signed by the Republican president.

As part of a negotiating period with Beijing, Trump has placed 30 percent tariffs on goods from China, a rate that is smaller than the combined import taxes with which he has threatened New Delhi.

Trump had previewed for reporters on Tuesday that the tariffs would be coming, saying the US had a meeting with Russia on Wednesday as the Trump administration tries to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump had not spoken about the new tariffs Wednesday, but he posted on Truth Social that special envoy Steve Witkoff's talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin were “highly productive."

The Indian government on Wednesday called the additional tariffs “unfortunate."

“We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement, adding that India would take all actions necessary to protect its interests.

Jaiswal said India has already made its stand clear that the country’s imports were based on market factors and were part of an overall objective of ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion people.

Ajay Srivastava, a former Indian trade official, said the latest tariff places the country among the most heavily taxed US trading partners and far above rivals such as China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh.

“The tariffs are expected to make Indian goods far costlier with the potential to cut exports by around 40 percent-50 percent to the US,” he said.

Srivastava said Trump's decision was “hypocritical” because China bought more Russian oil than India did last year.

“Washington avoids targeting Beijing because of China’s leverage over critical minerals which are vital for US defense and technology,” he said.

In 2024, the US ran a $45.8 billion trade deficit in goods with India, according to the US Census Bureau. American consumers and businesses buy pharmaceutical drugs, precious stones and textiles and apparel from India, among other goods.

At the world’s largest country, India represented a way for the US to counter China's influence in Asia. But India has not supported the Ukraine-related sanctions by the US and its allies on Moscow even as India's leaders have maintained that they want peace.

The US and China are currently in negotiations on trade, with Washington imposing a 30 percent tariff on Chinese goods and facing a 10 percent retaliatory tax from Beijing on American products.

The planned tariffs on India contradict past efforts by the Biden administration and other nations in the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations that encouraged India to buy cheap Russian oil through a price cap imposed in 2022. The nations collectively capped Russian oil a $60 per barrel at a time when prices in the market were meaningfully higher,

The intent was to deprive the Kremlin of revenue to fund its war in Ukraine, forcing the Russian government either to sell its oil at a discount or divert money for a costly alternative shipping network.

The price cap was rolled out to equal parts skepticism and hopefulness that the policy would stave off Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The cap has required shipping and insurance companies to refuse to handle oil shipments above the cap, though Russia has been able to evade the cap by shipping oil on a “shadow fleet” of old vessels using insurers and trading companies located in countries that are not enforcing sanctions.

But oil prices have fallen with a barrel trading on Wednesday morning at $65.84, up 1 percent on the day.

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