On Wednesday, August 6, 2025, former U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order that doubles tariffs on goods imported from India to 50%. This decision is a direct response to India's continued purchase of Russian oil. The increased tariff includes an additional 25% duty on top of the existing tariffs.

Trump had already imposed a 25% tariff on Indian goods entering the U.S. He had threatened to "very substantially" increase tariffs on imports from India due to the country's continued purchase of Russian oil. Trump stated that 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". He also claimed that India has the highest tariffs of any country and that they are "buying Russian oil and fueling the war machine".

The executive order states that "it is necessary and appropriate to impose an additional ad valorem duty on imports of articles of India, which is directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil". The new tariff rate will be applied to Indian goods entering the U.S. for consumption 21 days after the order is signed, taking effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on September 17, 2025. Goods already in transit and cleared by U.S. customs before that time will be exempt.

The Ministry of External Affairs has responded that India will take actions to protect its "national interest". The Ministry has stated that their imports are based on market factors and are done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people in India. India has deemed President Trump's decision as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”.