Trump retaliates against India, doubles tariffs

President Donald Trump recently announced that tariffs on Indian imports to the U.S. will rise from 25% to 50%, citing India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. Knewz.com has learned that in an executive order, Trump stated, “I find that the government of India is currently directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil,” and because of that, imports of Indian goods “shall be subject to an additional … rate of duty of 25%.”

Trump makes India one of the highest-tariffed nations

President Trump’s executive order explains that this new levy will stack on top of the 25% tariffs he is imposing on most U.S. trading partners as part of his broader trade policy. The additional rate on Indian goods will take effect within 21 days, giving businesses less than a month to adjust. It is worth noting that a 50% tariff would put India among the highest-tariffed nations trading with the United States. Currently, only Brazil (50%), Syria (41%), Myanmar (40%) and Switzerland (39%) face comparable tariffs.

Trump’s justification for the high tariffs on India

In a recent CNBC interview, the president said, “[India has] the highest tariff of anybody. We do very, very little business with India because their tariffs are so high. So India has not been a good trading partner, because they do a lot of business with us, but we don’t do business with them. So we settled on 25% but I think I’m going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they’re buying Russian oil, they’re fueling the war machine. And if they’re going to do that, then I’m not going to be happy.” On the other hand, India has maintained that it bought Russian oil with U.S. support.

India condemns the hike in tariffs

India’s Ministry of External Affairs condemned the move, calling the tariffs “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable.” In its statement, the ministry added, “India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests.” The tariff dispute marks a sharp downturn in relations between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was the fourth world leader to visit Trump at the White House during his second term, and a U.S.–India trade deal had once been floated as a priority. Instead, the administration concluded its first major agreement with the United Kingdom earlier this year. It is worth noting that India was the 10th-largest source of goods imports into the United States in 2024, with shipments valued at more than $87 billion, according to Commerce Department figures. Those imports include metals, chemicals, plastics, machinery and agricultural goods.

The impact on Apple

Trump has also expressed frustration over U.S. companies shifting supply chains out of China and into other countries like India. The country has become Apple’s largest smartphone supplier to the United States. According to data from Canalys reported by Bloomberg, India produced 44% of U.S. smartphone imports last quarter, including the majority of iPhones now sold domestically. Cook has previously said that India will be the country of origin for most iPhones entering the U.S. beginning this quarter. In a May social media post, Trump wrote, “I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s [sic] that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else.”

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