Trump doubles tariffs on India to 50%, but offers 21 days window for negotiations

The additional tariffs dramatically raises pressure on India as most of its competitors such as Vietnam, Bangladesh and now China are not at lower tariffs. However, exporters said that US tariffs related uncertainty is already disrupting trade and that Indian exporters have grown wary of exporting to the US. About half of India’s total exports of $80 billion are, however, in the exemption list that include products such as pharma and electronics goods.

While the fresh order takes the total US tariffs to its highest on any country globally, it also offers a fresh window for discussion. The Indian Express had reported on Saturday that key economic ministries have been asked for inputs to sweeten the US trade deal stuck on India’s resistance to US demand for access in the Indian agri market.

“This 25 percent ad valorem duty will be effective for goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time 21 days after the date of the order. There are exceptions for goods that were loaded onto a vessel and in transit before this effective date and are entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption before 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 17, 2025,” the order read.

NEW: President Donald J. Trump just signed an Executive Order imposing an additional 25% tariff on India in response to its continued purchase of Russian oil.

Here is the text of the Order:

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the…

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 6, 2025

While New Delhi has called the targeting of India over the purchase of Russian oil “unjustified and unreasonable” and vowed to take “all necessary measures” to safeguard its “national interests and economic security”, Indian exporters are in a fix, scrambling to retain access to the US — their most valuable export market, accounting for nearly 20 per cent of India’s total outbound shipments.

Incidentally, China is the largest buyer of Russian oil, at about 2 million barrels per day, followed by India (just under 2 million a day) and Turkey. The US had agreed to lower tariffs on Chinese goods to 30 per cent from 145 per cent in May. The executive order does not make a mention of China, but instead stipulates a mechanism wherein the US Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with other senior officials, “will monitor if any other country (beyond India) is directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil and recommend further action”.

Indian officials have indicated that the US is unwilling to negotiate sectoral tariffs — such as those on steel and automobiles — which have already impacted nearly $5 billion worth of Indian exports. Evan A. Feigenbaum, Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said on Monday that US-India relations may now become a political football, especially in New Delhi. He warned that the core understandings that enabled closer ties may be at serious risk, as New Delhi had largely assumed Washington would take political risks to strengthen the relationship — something Trump has not done and clearly will not do.

Feigenbaum added that the split in relations is further underscored by Trump’s effusive praise for Islamabad and recent engagement with Pakistan’s army and government — developments that raise obvious concerns in New Delhi. “The United States was roiled by India’s ties to Iran, Myanmar, and later Russia. Trump and his administration are now moving to sanction and tariff India over its oil trade with Russia. This significantly shifts the bar for bilateral relations,” he said.