Trump hikes tariffs on India to 50%, scrambling the country’s plans to be an alternative to China

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

Trump had previewed for reporters Tuesday that the tariffs would be coming

During an event in the Oval Office Wednesday with Apple CEO Tim Cook, Trump affirmed the 50% tariff number, not giving a specific answer as to whether additional tariffs on India would be dropped if there were a deal between Russia and Ukraine. “We’ll determine that later,” Trump said. “But right now they’re paying a 50% tariff.” The White House said Wednesday that Trump could meet in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as next week as he seeks to broker an end to the war

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 tect its interests

Jaiswal said India has already made its stand 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 tariff places the country among the most heavily taxed U.S. 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%-50% to the U.S.,” 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 U.S. defense and nology,” he said

In 2024, the U.S. ran a $45.8 billion trade deficit in goods with India, meaning America imported more from India than it exported, according to the U.S

American consumers and es buy pharmaceutical drugs, precious stones and textiles and apparel from India, among other goods

As the world’s largest country, India represented a way for the U.S. to counter China’s influence in Asia

But India has not supported the Ukraine-related sanctions by the U.S. and its allies on Moscow even as India’s leaders have maintained that they want peace

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 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.